


Amis-Amants

by leen_go (cagedchaos)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, friends with benefits!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-13
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2018-10-25 09:58:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10761912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cagedchaos/pseuds/leen_go
Summary: Kris and Yixing have a simple and mutually beneficial relationship, until it stops being simple.





	1. Chapter 1

“First thing’s first. I want all cellphones and other electronic devices up here with me in this bag. No texting or calling or emailing or whatever for the two days we’re here.”

Kris Wu joined nearly fifty other members of senior management at _EXO Publications_ in the room who were groaning and muttering curses under their breaths. With reluctance and a failed attempt to pretend he didn’t have anything to submit for confiscation, Kris relinquished his phone after a desperate last text to his assistant, Do Kyungsoo, to keep things running smoothly back at the office while he was gone.

As Creative Director for _Style_ , Kris was required to attend the parent company’s annual retreat where managers were forced to participate in seminars and workshops that were designed to motivate teamwork across the different publications and for professional development in general. Most years, it was a wasted weekend, and all the managers merely showed up, not bothering to actively participate. This year, however, the organizer had deemed it necessary for the employees to _actually_ actively partake in the training.

The only upside was that the workshops took place only during the day; the evenings and nights were free for whatever the managers wanted to do: go swimming in the lake, enjoy the spa, or take advantage of the open bar.

Kris enjoyed hiking, but it was mandatory that anyone that wanted to venture into the forest be paired for safety. To his immense disappointment, he was partnered with a small stature of a man, someone he’d never once seen roaming the building of EXO Publishing.

“Great,” Kris muttered to himself under his breath. The guy barely looked held together enough to climb several flights of stairs, forget hiking to the top of the cliff overlooking the lake.

His partner tightened the straps on his backpack and smiled up dimly at Kris, who only snorted in response. “Don’t fall behind,” Kris dismissed, before starting off without waiting for his assigned partner.

Kris was surprised to learn that whatever publication this scrawny kid was from, he wasn’t half bad, having been able to match Kris’ pace as they climbed to the top of the cliff. “Not bad,” Kris nodded, approvingly, “I half-expected your skinny ass to collapse when the path started winding.”

His nameless partner grinned and tossed a bottle of water from his backpack towards Kris. “I was going to say the same for you, actually.”

Kris raised an eyebrow as he caught the flying bottle in his right hand with ease, “Excuse me?”

“I thought that being an ex-model meant you didn’t eat and consequently, meant you would have no energy or strength to hike up this steep path.” The shorter man found an acceptably even spot on the ground and crossed his legs under him, patting the space beside him as an invitation for Kris to join him. A smile graced his features, a dimple indenting his cheek, “I’m glad that I’m wrong.”

Kris managed a laugh, “I suppose I should be taking it as a compliment?”

“If you want. But I have to tell you that my gladness comes mostly from the fact that I didn’t have to carry you down the mountain to the resort again on my back,” came the joking answer as he swallowed a large gulp of water. “I’m Zhang Yixing, by the way, Editor-In-Chief for _NaturEats_.”

Kris took Yixing’s hand and shook firmly, vaguely recalling the name on the roster of minor publications from the company. If he recalled correctly, _NaturEats_ was a food magazine that was published four times a year that included recipes, international finds and other random articles that Kris  couldn’t even really pretend to much care for. He chose not to share his personal feelings as he started to introduce himself in turn. “Kris Wu. I’m-”

“ _Style_ ’s Creative Director,” Yixing answered for him with a nod, shrugging when Kris looked at him in surprise, “Everyone knows the fashion magazine on the twenty-seventh floor.”

“Oh,” Kris laughed, “Well, I’m sorry I don’t know your entire story, then.”

“Well, now you know my name and what I do,” Yixing answered, getting to his feet and patting down the back of his pants. “The rest can come later.” He held a hand out for Kris and pulled the latter to his feet once more. “Shall we head back?”

*

While Kris was a natural at mingling and striking up conversations, it wasn’t as easy to do in a room full of anxious and annoyed managers that wanted to be anywhere but here. Kris chose instead to waste his time talking to Yixing and found that he could even enjoy the time the spent chatting if he stopped wondering what kind of dismal profit Yixing’s magazine brought to _EXO Publications_.

Yixing had a love for cooking and eating that rivalled Kris’ for fashionable wardrobe choices, something he had discovered by accident when he was wandering around the resort on one of their breaks in between mandated sessions. He found Yixing in the infrequently used kitchen, rolling his sleeves up as he pulled out a knife from the drawer.

“What the hell are these for?” Kris asked, poking at a couple of floating brown blobs in a bowl of water. “They smell funny.”

“They’re dried shiitake mushrooms. I’m rehydrating them in water.” Yixing narrowed his eyes at Kris as he pulled the bowl out of Kris’ reach, “Are you sure you’re Chinese? Because you don’t seem to know much about Chinese cuisine.”

Kris scowled and leaned back in his seat with a shrug, crossing one leg over the other, “I was raised in Canada,” he answered simply. “I grew up on fries and hamburgers. The only Chinese food I ate came in the form of deep fried spring rolls.”

Yixing made a face, “That’s both disgusting and pitiful,” he muttered, taking off his watch and the black bracelets he wore around his wrists and setting them down on the counter away from the sink. “If you don’t mind, I’m making lunch and it’s so much easier and way more fun cooking for two than for just one.” An embarrassing grumble from Kris’ stomach made him rub the back of his neck nervously as Yixing laughed, “I will take that as a yes.”

Kris pointed at the ingredients scattered haphazardly around the counter, “Where did you find all this anyway? I’m pretty sure your weird mushroom things didn’t come with the kitchen.”

Yixing shrugged as he started to wash a large bowl of raw rice, “Five years ago when I started to come to these team development things, I found out about this kitchen that no one ever uses so ever since then, I pack my own stuff. It’s relaxing for me to cook.”

Kris looked at Yixing with incredulity, “You… brought these… for a two day trip…?”

“Is that a problem?” Yixing grinned, “Because while I don’t prefer it , I can go back to making lunch for just myself.”

Another rumble sounded from Kris’ midriff and he scowled, “ _Fine_.”

When the two had finally finished eating, Kris offered to do the dishes, feeling embarrassed when Yixing laughed and pointed at the dishwasher under the counter beside the sink. “Well, at least now we know you don’t have problems getting your hands dirty. You’re certainly making a better name for yourself in my books.”

Kris frowned, “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“What, princess can’t handle it?” Yixing mocked, head turning back and forth over the kitchen, “Where did I leave them?” he mused after, more to himself than to Kris.

“Leave what?” Kris asked as he put the last bowl in the machine and closed the door with his foot, watching in amusement as Yixing recklessly threw open drawers and cupboards.

“My watch and my bracelets,” Yixing answered, now searching through the bowl of fake fruit on the kitchen table.

Kris raised an eyebrow and turned his attention immediately to the counter opposite the sink where Yixing had carefully placed his belongings an hour ago. He turned back to Yixing (now searching _underneath_ the kitchen table) and rolled his eyes. He grabbed Yixing’s things and strode up to their owner, tapping Yixing lightly on the back, “Looking for these?”

In Yixing’s haste to get up, he seemed to forgotten that he was under a hard surface and bumped his head loudly against the metal frame, making Kris cringe in sympathy, “You okay?”

Yixing rubbed the top of his head with a groan and a wince. “I’ll survive,” he joked as he took his items back from Kris with a grateful smile, “Thanks. My mom would kill me if she found out I lost her gift,” he said, rolling the bands around one wrist and fitting his watch onto the other. “Oh, crap! We’re late! We better go.”

Kris stared after Yixing a moment before following behind him, laughing to himself at the abrupt way Yixing’s attention seemed to change from one topic to another. Despite himself, Kris thought that Yixing was certainly someone fun to hang around.

*

The annual company retreat always ended with a quiet fizzle. All the senior managers were feeling nervous from having been away from their respective magazines for so long and the excitement of being reunited with their cell phones was like Christmas came early. Kris would be lying if he said he wasn’t the same.

In anticipation of leaving as soon as possible, Kris had already packed in the morning. He was halfway to the company car when a voice calling him made him turn around to find Yixing running towards him. “Kris! Good, you haven’t left! Can I ask you for a favour?” Yixing bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

“Uhm, I was just starting to head back to the office…” Kris answered, hoping the urgency in his voice would make it clear he hardly had time to be doing favours. Besides, he’d already told Jongin as soon as he got his phone back that he’d had his driver swing by the model’s place.

“Well, that’s the favour. I, er,” Yixing raised a nervous hand to the top of his head and scratched it with a finger, “Kind of, uhm, don’t have a ride out of here…”

“What? How is that possible?”

Yixing stared at his feet, “Uhm, well, I kind of forgot to tell my driver to come get me after two days… and I just got my phone back, so even if I called him now, it’d taken another few hours for him to get all the way out here…”

Kris rolled his eyes, “Fine. Get in,” he ordered, opening the back seat door for Yixing to crawl in before he stepped inside himself. Telling Yixing to give his driver his address, Kris looked down distractedly at his phone and sent Jongin a message to tell him he was going to be a little later than originally planned.

…

Kris sat down in the seat across from the table in his editor-in-chief’s office, placing his steaming mug of coffee lightly on the glass table and staring absently at the small bouquet of calla lillies in a tall vase as he waited for his boss to return from wherever he was.

“I swear to god old man Lee is getting senile,” Junmyeon grumbled as he dropped into his chair in front of Kris. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a method Kris knew he used to calm down when he was feeling particularly stressed. “Alright, Kris, you’ve got ten minutes before I have another meeting.”

Kris nodded and spoke quickly, describing the general theme of next month’s issue in few words as Junmyeon listened and asked a couple questions here and there.

“Alright, sounds good. Just run through the details with Zitao and he’ll get you what you need. ” Junmyeon said as he turned to hit a button on his phone to summon his assistant.

Kris grabbed his folder and left the room, “Have fun at your meeting,” he said as he left, getting a muffled grunt in response as he walked across the office towards his own office.

Huang Zitao knocked on his open door soon after, “Mr. Kim asked that I take notes for next month’s issue?” He asked gingerly as he stepped in.

“Shut up and close the door behind you,” Kris muttered and Zitao complied easily, dropping his notepad to the ground when Kris pinned him against the door as soon as it clicked closed. “What took you so long?” he growled as he grabbed Zitao’s hand and guided it towards the zipper on his jeans as he manoeuvred towards the couch in the office, fingers working deftly at undoing the buttons on Zitao’s shirt.

Kris was already hard and leaking when the door to his office suddenly swung open, “Omigod. I’m so sorry I’m late!” Kris’ eyes snapped open as he pushed Zitao away and hastily tried to cover himself up with a cushion at the sight of Yixing frozen with his hand still on the handle, “I-… uhm, where’s Kim Junmyeon’s office?” He asked nervously, clearly trying hard to look anywhere but at the scene he’d walked in on.

Zitao was the first to recover, getting to his feet gracefully and clearing his throat casually as he pulled his shirt together lazily, “I’ll show you. Come on.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Yixing stuttered, “Uhm, do you need a minute or…?”

Zitao shrugged in a bored manner as he looked down at his shirt where he was still buttoning back up. “No, I’m good.”

Kris waited until the door was closed to let out a frustrated groan. Zitao was likely not coming back after escorting Yixing to his boss’ office, which left Kris only himself to finish the job.

“Fuckin’ Yixing.”

…

Kris stared at the invitation in Kyungsoo’s outstretched arm as the latter shot the former with an unimpressed expression and a long sigh before exclaiming in an annoyed tone. “I reminded you about the party yesterday, Kris! How did you already forget?!”

Kris groaned as he vaguely recalled his wide-eyed assistant dropping in earlier that week to remind him to dress nicely, and possibly wear a specific colour because the host of the party liked the forest green over every other colour. “I’ll just borrow something from the Closet for tonight then. I don’t have time to go home.”

Kyungsoo nodded, “I’ll have someone send up a few selections and then you can choose from there.”

“Thanks,” Kris muttered as he threw the invitation on top of the tall stack of pages on his desk. Should he even bother trying to come up with a date for the party? He knew all the models he usually went to parties with were all at a otherwise occupied, probably already drunk off expensive bottles of champagne.

A knock sounded on his door lightly and Yixing let himself in awkwardly, “Uhm, do you have a minute?”

Kris waved Kyungsoo away and sat down on the couch, motioning for Yixing to join him. Yixing only shook his head, “I’m not staying long. I just, uhm. I wanted to… Yesterday… I should’ve knocked… It was my fault… and…”

“And you’re sorry?” Kris finished for him, laughing. “It’s fine, Yixing. I’m over it. Not the first time that’s happened and probably won’t be the last.”

Yixing looked up for the first time with a bewildered look, “Oh. Uh. Then I guess I’ll be going. Again. So sorry.”

Kris smirked and called after Yixing just as he started to leave, “Well, if you’re so sorry, perhaps there’s something you could do to make up for it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Uh, I dunno. Go home, make dinner, throw on a movie?”

“Good, then you’re free to be my plus one tonight.”

Yixing blinked blankly a couple of times. “Come again?”

Kris rolled his eyes at Yixing just as Kyungsoo returned with a rack of suits. “Hey, Kyungsoo, find something for Yixing, too,” he requested, walking up to the rack and glancing through his options as the assistant disappeared once more. “I have a thing in like an hour, and I’m supposed to bring a date. But I forgot about it, and since you’re not doing anything tonight, you can accompany me.”

Yixing raised an eyebrow, “A thing?”

Kris shrugged as he removed his shirt and pointed at Yixing to hand him the shirt on the third hanger, grinning openly when he noticed Yixing staring at his torso. “Yeah, some designer’s got a presentation tonight. If it helps, she’s like best friends with some famous chef guy who’s apparently cooking for the event. Pierre something or other, I think.”

Yixing’s eyes widened as he handed the purple shirt towards Kris. “Pierre Aubin?” Yixing perked up, excitement clear in his voice.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Kris answered after a moment’s thought, pulling a tie off another hangar and wrapping it around his neck.

“Well, _if I owe you_ , then I suppose I’ll go.”

Kris snorted and rolled his eyes, “Please, you’d be begging me to go if I hadn’t already asked you to come with me.”

Yixing narrowed his eyes and grabbed a blazer off the rack and threw it at Kris. “Shut up.”

*

Normally, Kris found such events interesting, but he was finding it hard stay intrigued by the repetitiveness of the floral designs. He excused himself from the discussion in the sitting room of the elaborate mansion and grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray held by one of the servers.

Yixing had long disappeared into the kitchen to talk to his chef and Kris didn’t think it’d be appropriate to leave without telling him. He took a sip from his flute and contemplated if it was still early enough to call up Chanyeol to meet at his apartment tonight for some stress relief. Or maybe Sehun; Kris hadn’t seen him in a while. Making a decision, Kris pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to locate Sehun’s entry. Just as he was about hit the ‘dial’ button, the phone flew out of his hands when a blur rounded the corner and into him, spilling his drink all over his front.

“Oh god, Kris, I’m sorry.” Yixing exclaimed, bending down to pick up the dropped device, checking it to make sure it still worked. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be chatting outside?”

“And shouldn’t you be having a field day talking to your chef?” Kris asked, undoing his soiled tie from around his neck.

“Oh, he had to leave to some other thing. And you didn’t answer my question.” Yixing probed, taking the glass from Kris’ hand and drinking the rest of what was left in it.

Kris shrugged as he took his phone back, “Not terribly impressed by her work today.”

“Thinking of leaving, then?”

Kris shrugged again. “Night’s a bust anyway. Maybe if I leave now, I can finish it off on a better note.”

A playful glint appeared in Yixing’s eyes as he put down the now-empty glass on a nearby ledge. “Come with me. I have any idea.”

“I’d really rather not…” Kris muttered as he returned his attention to his phone.

Yixing rolled his eyes and pulled at Kris’ wrist, “I’ll make it worth your time.”

Kris reluctantly followed Yixing down the hall until Yixing opened a door to a darkened room and pushed him inside. “Where is this place?” He asked, looking for the light switch as Yixing closed the door, the streak of light from the hallway getting smaller until the entire room was shrouded in darkness.

“No idea, but does it matter?” Kris heard Yixing ask before he felt a surprisingly strong pair of hands pushing him into a wall and fingers undoing the buttons on his shirt nimbly.

“Fuck, Yixing. What are you doing?” Kris asked, swatting at Yixing’s hands in the dark.

“I’m saying sorry for yesterday.” Yixing leaned into Kris, murmuring into his ear before lining kisses along his neck.

“Really, _really_ not necessary.” Kris deflected, removing Yixing’s hand from the opening in his pants.

“Oh please. It’s not like you and that assistant were exclusive. I could tell. Besides, you were contemplating calling someone else up right now for the same reason anyway. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Kris swallowed through an involuntary tremble when Yixing brought his knee up to press against the growing tightness in his pants, “I have established terms with those people. You, you’re… I’m not looking for… uh...”

Yixing snorted as he ran his hands over Kris’ exposed chest, “Look at where we are, Kris. Does it look like I’mlooking for anything serious?” Yixing placed another kiss just above Kris’ left nipple as his hands trailed downwards again.

No, it certainly did not. And honestly, this was probably easier than calling someone that may or may not be free to meet up tonight on such short notice. Kris relaxed and let his hand wander up Yixing’s back under his shirt as he leaned down to kiss Yixing.

“Not on the lips,” Yixing diverted, turning away to brush his lips against Kris’ collar. “Too complicated.”

Kris grinned as he recalled the handful of partners he’d had to sever ties with because they’d wanted more than Kris could give.

 _Even better_.

…

 _Riiiinggg_.

“Yeah.” Kris answered, tucking the office phone between his ear and shoulder to free up his hand to flip through The Book, rearranging pages of advertisements and articles with full-page photos of the spring line.

“Boss wants to see you in his office,” Zitao’s voice rang through the earpiece.

Kris groaned as he stuffed a page back into place. “Alright, I’ll be right over,” he grumbled before hanging up and getting up from his seat. Flashing a quick smile Zitao’s way as he stepped into the office of the editor-in-chief, Kris had pull a double-take when he realised that Yixing was sitting in one of the chairs across the desk from Junmyeon.

“Good, you’re here. Sit,” Junmyeon instructed, pointing at the chair next to Yixing. “This is Zhang Yixing. He runs the food magazine down on twelfth. Yixing, this is Kris, my creative director.”

“Oh, we’ve met already,” Yixing announced, grinning widely at Kris with a playful glint in his eye. Kris only raised an eyebrow subtly before turning back to Junmyeon as he took his seat.

“Perfect, then it’ll be easier for you two to work together for next month’s issue where we’ll be featuring summer super-foods.”

“Of course,” Kris answered, trying to avoid acknowledging at the grin on Yixing’s face.

“Good. Now get out of my office, you two. I have things to do.” Junmyeon bent over his desk once more, flipping through loose pages, a clear indication for the two to leave. “Oh, and remember to get The Book to me by the end of the day, Kris.”

Yixing laughed as soon as the door closed behind them, “Is he always so rushed?”

Kris nodded absently, “Today was actually pretty ‘lax. You lucked out. Right, Zitao?” The assistant looked up from his computer to nod briefly, fingers barely pausing as they flew over the keyboard. “Anyway, I’m guessing you can find your way back to the elevators fine?” Kris asked Yixing as they started walking again.

“Sure, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to run some ideas by you first,” Yixing said, swinging his arms by his side as he kept pace with Kris’ long strides.

“Oh,” Kris paused to glance at his watch. “Yeah, sure. I’ve got a couple of minutes. My office is this way.” Kris led the shorter male towards his office, nodding to his assistant as he picked up his messages from Kyungsoo’s hand.

“So, us working together, huh?” Yixing asked as soon as he stepped inside the office.

“Looks like it,” Kris answered as he closed the door, “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, nothing, really. Just how much I can’t wait to get those pants off you.”

Caught off guard for but a second, Kris laughed as he stepped behind his desk to sit down, “No, seriously.”

Yixing didn’t return the laugh and instead, pulled a comically straight face from across Kris’ work table. “Seriously.”

Kris rolled his eyes, “We’re at work. And there are at least twenty people outside that door.”

Yixing smirked, “Didn’t stop you and Zitao last time, did it?” He hopped up onto Kris’ desk and swung his legs around so he could face the creative director of the fashion magazine. Kris narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Yixing, who simply rolled _his_ eyes and crossed his arms before speaking in an offended voice, “You’re not in danger of needing to fend off a stalker, Kris. I broke up with my boyfriend recently and now I’m just horny all the time, okay?”

Kris sighed loudly with a chuckle, “I really have to get through this by the end of the day, Yixing,” he answered, pointing at the binder that Yixing was practically sitting on top of before pulling at it slightly to emphasize his point.

Yixing pouted and hopped off to the ground again, releasing the binder, “Fine. Tonight then. Call me when you’re done.” Yixing winked as he walked backwards out of the office.

Kris shook his head and picked up a pen as Yixing left the room again, mind already made up that Yixing was _not_ the one he was going to call tonight; Wednesdays were always with Chanyeol.

…

“Hey, you got a moment?”

Kris looked up from the collection of proofs he had been staring at for the last couple of hours, trying to narrow down the shots to a select few that would actually run in the next issue. Blinking a couple times to let his eyes adjust to the change in focal distances, Kris found Yixing standing at his office door again, hand still hovering where his knuckles had knocked. “Depends on how long a moment you’re talking about,” Kris answered, eyeing the stack of pages in Yixing’s hand.

“I’ll be super quick,” Yixing replied, pushing the glasses up his nose as he walked in and sat down across the table from Kris. “The collaboration for next month. We need to find a time to discuss it so I can figure out what resources I can spare for this.”

Kris stared blankly for a moment, a little surprised by the professional manner with which Yixing was currently carrying himself, completely different from the cheerful chef at the company retreat. “Yeah, sure. Give me a second,” Kris finally said when he’d noticed he’d let a silence hang for too long as he recalled the last time he and Yixing were in his office. He got up from his desk and slipped out of his office to grab Kyungsoo, something he could have just as easily accomplished by pressing a button on his phone. “I need my schedule for the next couple of days.”

Kyungsoo nodded and handed him a large agenda book turned to today’s date and covered with a plethora of coloured sticky notes, looking up at his boss expectantly, “Anything else?”

“Uh…” Kris stared at the book in bewilderment, eyebrow raised at the complexity of his assistant’s organization. “Maybe you should just come in.”

Kyungsoo chuckled lightly as he took the book back and followed Kris back into his office. “What do you need?”

Kris started towards his chair, pointing at the seat next to Yixing as an indication for Kyungsoo to join them. “I need to make time for a meeting with Yixing to discuss the direction we’re taking for the coming issue.” Kris watched with slight amusement from his seat at how both of the males sitting in front of him were now flipping through their respective agendas, trying to find a time that worked for both of the busy editors.

“I’ve got an hour after lunch this Friday before he’s needed at a fashion show,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“No good, my Friday’s all filled up. Anything for Thursday?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “He’s not free until next Tuesday after that.”

And on it went as Kris watched with a raised eyebrow. “What about this Sunday then?” He piped up after watching Yixing and Kyungsoo eliminate over a dozen potential times to meet.

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow as he looked up in surprise, “You don’t work Sundays.”

Kris scowled and rolled his eyes, “Well, if you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears.”

Kyungsoo looked at Yixing, who was flipping pages again until he settled onto the date Kris was talking about, “When were you thinking?”

“Morning’s no good, Kris sleeps in ‘til noon, _at least_.” Kyungsoo muttered seriously and Kris chucked his pen at his assistant who looked up in alarm, only just realising what he’d said. “Oh, I mean… uhm… Yeah, no way to recover. Sorry about that, Kris.” Kyungsoo apologized half-heartedly with a shrug as he picked up the pen from the ground to throw back at his boss.

Yixing’s laughter made Kris start, hardly expecting the tinkling sound to reverberate in his office, “Don’t worry, Kris. It’s hardly a secret around _EXO_ anyway.” He turned back to his planner, pushing at his glasses again, “How does 1 o’clock  sound then? Think you can make it out of bed by then, Sleeping Beauty?”

Kris scowled at Yixing’s playfully condescending tone. “Fine. But we’re meeting at a restaurant because I will be needing feeding.”

…

On Sunday, the alarm on Kris’ phone went off too soon for Kris’ liking. In half an hour, he was expected to meet Yixing, but his headache was putting up a convincing argument against making the date. Still, Kris managed to call a company town car to pick him up as his loft in fifteen minutes, allowing him enough time to get into the shower and change into something clean. With the idea of wearing a suit on a Sunday disgusting Kris, he decided instead to pull on a simple pair of dark jeans and white t-shirt; Yixing was hardly a client he needed to impress anyway.

“Well, don’t you look chipper,” Yixing greeted from his seat as the waiter pulled out the chair for Kris.

Kris ignored the sarcastic comment as he sat down, asking for a coffee from the waiter before he left. “No cream, no sugar. Just black,” he muttered, pushing his sunglasses up his nose as he turned to face Yixing. “And why the hell are we sitting outside when there’s perfectly good seating inside? _Where it’s dimmer_?” Kris growled, wishing he’d worn a hat to shield himself from the sun.

“Uh, because it’s nice out?” Yixing replied, as if it was the most obvious thing, “And because I hardly expected you to be arriving with a hangover?”

Kris let out a low growl and reached across the table towards Yixing’s mug of coffee, “You can have mine when it gets here,” he proposed.

Yixing brought his hand down hard on Kris’ before the latter could reach the handle of the mug, “Nuh uh, no way. You’re the one who decided it was a good idea to get wasted last night, so you deal with it yourself.”

Kris glared at the smug expression Yixing was wearing as he brought his drink to his lips with a mocking smirk, clearly amused at the way Kris had to shake his hand of the attack. Defeated, Kris crossed his arms on his chest and leaned over the table to read his meal options from the menu, trying to decide which of the items his hangover craved the most and thankful that the restaurant had an all-day breakfast selection, which included _bacon_.

No sooner had Kris’ eggs Benedict arrived, Yixing was all business, pulling out a folder from the seat beside him and opening it to face Kris as he pulled on a pair of glasses and started to talk at a million words a minute, shooting words at Kris at an alarming rate.

“Whoa, slow down will you?” Kris muttered in irritation after he nearly choked on his hot coffee, “I haven’t even gotten through half a bite and already you’re drowning me in words.” Yixing’s finger hovered over the page where he had been pointing as he stared blankly at Kris, eyes unblinking for so long that Kris had to snap his fingers in front of them to get his attention. “Just give me at least ten minutes to settle down first, okay?”

Yixing finally blinked, though with a long sigh, as he brought his hand back to himself, “You’re the one who suggested meeting over a meal,” he grumbled, as he picked up his own fork.

Kris scowled, partially at Yixing’s tone and partially because the sun was still unrelenting. “Besides, everything you’re suggesting is very…” he paused to search for the right word as he chewed slowly, “Boring?” Yixing raised an eyebrow. “Well, not boring, just not very… you know, exciting.” The other eyebrow joined the first into Yixing’s forehead and Kris sighed exasperatedly, frustrated that it was too early in the day to be finding proper words to be polite. “This is a _fashion_ magazine, Yixing. Our readers don’t want vanilla. They’re looking for something more glamorous. Something sexy.”

“Glamorous,” Yixing repeated flatly.

“Yeah. They don’t necessarily care about what’s _good_ for them or how to cook a delicious meal from scratch, Yixing. They care more about, say, super foods that will help them lose weight. Or like, the most popular restaurants in the city.”

Yixing paused with his fork raised halfway to his mouth, “Have I told you how superficial your stupid magazine is?”

Kris laughed as Yixing closed the file on the table and stashed it back into his bag, fork now hanging out of his mouth. “I’m not saying you can’t use _any_ of that. Just have to revise it a bit is all.”

Yixing glared at Kris, clearly annoyed that an editor-in-chief was being told what to do by someone who, well, _wasn’t_ an editor-in-chief. “Yeah, just gotta make it sexy.”

Kris grinned at Yixing’s bitter tone as he stowed away his glasses along with the file, trying to make up his mind on whether he like Yixing better with or without the frames. “Maybe I should get my writers to submit a piece on natural aphrodisiacs,” Yixing muttered, poking at his seafood pasta plate.

Kris smiled, “See? Getting better,” he encouraged, only a hint of sarcasm evident in his voice. “Oysters are part of that class, aren’t they?” he asked, remembering the dish that Yixing had ordered.

Yixing smirked as he continued poking at his lunch. “So is wasabi. And hot chillies,” he listed slowly.

Kris nearly choked again when he felt something nudging between his legs and looked down to find Yixing’s foot, shoe off, pressing purposely against the zipper of his jeans.

“And ginseng.” Yixing continued innocently, as if he _wasn’t_ the owner of the foot pressing against Kris’ groin. Kris wondered if Yixing’s glasses also doubled for a filter for their owner’s actions as he dropped his knife and pushed Yixing’s foot away. With a soft thud, Yixing’s foot landed back on the ground and the redhead pouted across the table at Kris. “You didn’t call me back last Wednesday.”

Kris gasped sharply when Yixing brought his leg up again and started to run it against his inner thigh. _Just a business lunch, just a business lunch, just a business lunch._ He swallowed hard and wondered how the wandering foot under the table belonged to the same person _pouting_ at him with innocent eyes from across the table. “Uh, yeah. I was busy that night,” he muttered in a voice that he hoped had the same tone of nonchalance as Yixing’s.

Yixing frowned and opened his mouth to reply just as their server returned to ask how everything was. Kris was both thankful for the interruption and annoyed because Yixing had taken advantage of the server’s presence to converse about the weather (of all things!) with the restaurant employee, all the while pulling at the waist of Kris’ jeans fervently with his toes and Kris had no way to make him stop without being painfully obvious to their server. It was also baffling how Yixing could look so interested in what the server had to say.

“Could you please excuse us?” Kris bit out at the waiter between his teeth, angered further by the fact that Yixing had the audacity to look _startled_ at his rude tone. Kris waited until the waiter blinked a couple times in shock as he left before pushing his seat backwards far enough that Yixing’s foot fell to the ground once more. Another glance at the well thought out innocent expression on Yixing’s face was enough to make Kris pull a couple of bills from his wallet and slap them on the table. “Grab your shit, we’re leaving,” Kris muttered as he clumsily tried to put his wallet away as he stood up.

Still immersed in his innocent play, Yixing looked up at Kris with wide eyes, “Why? Where’re we going?”

Kris cursed at the playful twitch at the corner of Yixing’s mouth. “My place, your place. Doesn’t matter, does it?” He grabbed Yixing’s belongings as he waited for Yixing to get up lazily.

 

A tinkling laugh tumbled from between Yixing’s lips as he stood up slowly and Kris was pretty sure he was going to kill the shorter male if he didn’t fucking _pick up the pace_. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Kiss me, Yixing.”

The words had slipped out from between Kris’ lips in between trembling gasps of breath before he even realised he had been thinking them and he immediately regretted them.

The friction between Kris’ thighs suddenly disappeared and his body involuntarily lurched upwards away from his bed sheets at the loss of contact. He had to bite his bottom lip to keep from whimpering when he looked down to find that Yixing had removed himself, looking up at him with lust-filled eyes and reddened lips.

“What?” Yixing asked, swiping a thumb across his lips as he pulled himself up to look down at Kris.

 _Kiss me on the lips, dammit,_ Kris wanted to blurt out and instead, tasted blood as his teeth dug further into his lip.

“And ruin what we’ve got going on?” Yixing continued, in between leaning over to trace Kris’ collarbone with his lips, a fingernail trailing along the underside of the taller male’s cock, making him shiver; Kris could feel Yixing smiling against his skin and it only fanned the fire that burned into the base of his abdomen.

“You’re right,” Kris muttered through a ragged breath as Yixing trailed kisses down his torso again. No, Yixing was right. What they had was perfect: no strings, no emotions, just sex, _great_ sex at that. “Slipped out was all.”

“Good,” was the last thing Yixing said before Kris’ breath hitched quicker again.

*

“My god, you’re amazing,” Kris breathed, collapsing onto his sheets with Yixing beside him, both breathing heavily from release.

Yixing’s twinkling laughter echoed slightly in Kris’ spacious bedroom,”I know.”

Muscles still too relaxed to actually move, Kris turned his head to the side to look at Yixing, “Arrogant,” he muttered.

Somehow, every single time that Kris and Yixing had met to discuss the special joint issue of _Style_ , the two had ended up in either Yixing’s apartment or Kris’ loft. Even after the issue had been printed and sold with great success on the racks, Kris still made time to meet Yixing, not that he was complaining (Kris had had to delete Zitao’s entry from his phone when the younger had asked if they could go for a movie _as a couple_ and Yixing had been a sufficient replacement).

Yixing’s eyes remained closed as he hummed his agreement and Kris allowed himself the opportunity to stare at Yixing’s satisfied quirk of the lips as his chest rose and fell. He had the sudden inexplicable urge to turn to his side and pull Yixing into his chest, to have their bodies lined perfectly against each other, to feel what it’d be like to have his arms wrapped around Yixing’s slim figure, to nuzzle his nose into Yixing’s hair and breathe in all of Zhang Yixing.

He might’ve even tried to act on the peculiar instinct if Yixing hadn’t suddenly opened his eyes and pulled himself into a more upright position, making Kris blink out of his reverie. “I have to go,” Yixing said after placing a quick peck on Kris’ cheek and sliding off the bed in search of his clothes. “Final copy has to go to print in two days and I’m still missing a couple of pages,” Yixing explained distractedly as he pulled his wrinkled t-shirt over his head and struggled slightly to put his arms through the sleeves. “And an old friend is coming to town so I have to go pick him up.”

Kris smiled to himself before rolling onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow so he could watch Yixing jump into his jeans. “Need a ride?” he asked breezily.

“Nope, I’m good,” Yixing answered, making his way to the table by the door to pick up his phone, “I’ll just get my assistant to swing the company car around to pick me up,” he said, thumbs tapping a message hurriedly into his phone, “He’s probably still at the office harassing my editors to submit their items.”

“Did you want dinner first?” Kris asked, already knowing the answer but still wanting to ask anyway.

Yixing smiled again, dimple indenting his cheek as he fixed his watch around his wrist and strode back towards Kris. He kissed two fingers lightly and held them to Kris’ lips, “Good night, Kris,” he said softly, before he jogged out of the room again. “I’ll let myself out!” He sang as he disappeared around the door frame.

Kris stared at the space where Yixing had been seconds before and cursed his heart for skipping a beat at the thought that Yixing’s two fingers were the closest he’d ever been to getting a real kiss from him.

Kris didn’t want to understand what that might mean.

…

“You’re going to love me,” Jongdae announced excitedly as soon as Kris entered his office and removed his jacket.

“And why is that?” Kris asked in a mildly bored tone as he shuffled through the phone messages his assistant had given him, not bothering to turn to face the editor who worked under him.

“ _Because_ ,” Jongdae explained, grabbing the notes in Kris’ hand so that Kris had to look up at him, “Lu Han.”

Kris raised an interested eyebrow, “The Chinese designer? What about him?” he asked, snatching his notes back but allowing Jongdae the courtesy of actually paying attention instead of getting distracted by his messages again.

A wide smile spread across Jongdae’s sharp features, “Well, I heard that he was coming into town so I managed to get into his manager’s good books and you have a meeting with him today at three o’clock."

Kris’ eyebrows raised an inch and he felt the corners of his mouth pull upwards as potential center-spread ideas sprang into his mind, “Well, I’m assuming you’ll want a bonus  included in your pay check at the end of this month for this or something?”

Jongdae laughed, “No, no, nothing like that. But I _was_ hoping to sit in on the meeting?”

Kris laughed good-naturedly and looked down at the agenda his assistant had placed on top of his closed laptop, his finger running down the schedule as he took a sip from his cup of coffee, “Damn, I’ve got to move some stuff around to fit that meeting in. How about you come ‘round noon and pitch me your ideas and we’ll see about you meeting Lu Han.”

Jongdae practically punched his fist into the air in excitement before clearing his throat and holding his arms level at his side as he straightened his expression, “I’ll see you then,” he said before turning to leave with a slight bow.

“Hey, on your way out, can you send Kyungsoo in? I have to make space in my schedule for Lu Han.”

*

Even though Kris was home significantly past normal working hours, he was feeling content. The meeting with Lu Han had gone swimmingly, with the latter agreeing to a reasonable four month contract where he would design exclusively for ‘Style’. Lu Han’s reputation for being easy-going was not exaggerated and Kris found himself taken by the youthful face and friendly smile. The only thing that could possible bring him down was that he still had no ideas for the center-spread of the issue after next, one of their biggest publications each year, since it would be released during _Fashion Week_.

Kris let himself relax for the moment, reminding himself that getting Lu Han was a great accomplishment in itself. Pouring himself a glass of wine, Kris sat down on his couch and pulled out his phone, thumbing through the contacts list and trying to make a decision on who he wanted tonight. “Nope, nope, nope,” he muttered out loud to himself, entry after entry in his personal address book. He realised as he neared the end of his list that pausing at every contact was pointless; he really just wanted to get to the end where the entry for ‘Zhang, Yixing’ resided.

His thumb hovered over the ‘call mobile’ button on his phone as he swallowed hard. When the hell did he start wanting to only see Yixing whenever he wanted to end a night on a good note?

…

“How about this, then?” Lu Han started, getting to his feet and picking up a marker to start doodling ideas on the chart paper in the middle of the room. He paused to untangle the double-looped leather bracelet from a simple black band he wore around his right wrist.

Kris leaned back into his seat and watched as Lu Han drew a rough sketch of a potential background for the center-spread of their next issue. He groaned when he recognized the similarity of the scene to one from an issue from when he was still a junior editor at the magazine, “Can’t. Did an almost exact scene about seven years ago.”

Lu Han sighed heavily and capped the marker, tossing it at Kris before ripping the page off the front of the pad. “We’re getting nowhere.”

Kris scowled at Lu Han’s annoyed tone, but he was right. They’d been brainstorming for the last seven hours and had yet to come up with anything substantial to use. “Alright, why don’t we take a break, go grab some food and meet back here in an hour and see what we come up with then?”

“Deal,” Lu Han said with a grin before leaving swiftly.

Kris glared at the pile of discarded ideas once more before following behind Lu Han and heading straight to the elevators. Instead of hitting the button for the ground floor, his finger tapped his finger on ‘12’ and watched the circle glow red as the chrome doors closed.

Kris found his way easily to Yixing’s office, knocking lightly on the door, but still loudly enough to have Yixing jump from his seat. “Oh, hey, Kris. What’s up?”

Kris collapsed into a chair, “Having a brain fart. You got time to grab a bite?” A _ding_ sounded from Yixing’s cell phone and Kris waited for him to check his message, hardly registering the way Yixing’s face had light up when he glanced down at his screen. “So?”

Yixing swallowed visibly as he put his phone down on the table again. “Uhm, we should probably talk, since you’re already here,” he said awkwardly.

“Oh no, are you dumping me?” Kris asked with mock hurt in his voice as he sat down in a chair with a grin.

Yixing managed half a smile and an apologetic shrug, “Actually, yeah.”

Kris raised a surprised eyebrow, “…Really?”

Yixing shrugged again, “Well, we weren’t ever technically together, so no. But yeah. You know that friend I told you about? The one I had to pick up at the airport? Well, uh, we’re kind of together now.” Yixing was keeping his head low, clearly to avoid making eye contact with Kris.

Kris couldn’t help the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, ignored it, even. “Wow, really? That was quick. Wasn’t that just like two weeks ago?” Kris stopped himself when he noticed the almost accusatory timbre of his voice, “I mean, that’s uh, great. It wasn’t like we were anything exclusive anyway, right?” Kris pushed the persistent voice in his head that asked why he was feeling irritable towards the unknown third party to the back of his mind to address later.

Yixing finally looked up with a wide relieved smile, the familiar dimple denting his cheek, “That’s exactly it! I probably should have told you earlier, but… well… I just never found the opportunity. He’s actually dropping by to get dinner right now. You can meet him!”

“You ready to go, Xing-ie?” Kris swung his head around abruptly at the familiar voice, finding Lu Han standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow when he recognized his coworker. “Oh, hey, Kris. You know Yixing?”

“Oh. Er, yeah. We worked together on an issue just over a month ago,” Kris explained, eyes dropping to Lu Han’s wrist and finally recognizing the black band around his wrist as part of the set that Yixing always wore. “I’ll be going then,” Kris said quickly, desperate to leave to anywhere but here where Yixing was walking around his desk so he could greet Lu Han with a quick kiss on the lips. “You two have fun. I’ll see you in an hour, Lu Han.”

And then Kris was out of the office, jabbing at the ‘up’ button on the elevator repeatedly in frustration. When the elevator doors didn’t open immediately, Kris scowled and headed into the stairwell instead, climbing the steps two at a time all the way back to the twenty-seventh floor. All thoughts of hunger replaced by annoying voices in his head that tried to decipher the meaning of Yixing letting Lu Han wear his mother’s gift, Kris slammed his office door and fell face first into his couch, fingernails digging into his palm in an attempt to bury the sick feeling in his chest that he could not attribute to climbing fifteen flights of stairs.

…

“I don’t like it. Any of it. Redo it all.” Kris threw the designs onto the conference room table the next week, causing Kyungsoo to jump a little in his seat between two junior editors and Lu Han to cross his arms with an incredulous look on his face, displaying clearly his displeasure at the action; Kris found he didn’t care what Lu Han was thinking.

“Can you give us a minute?” Lu Han asked calmly, directing his words at the startled Kyungsoo.

“Oh, of course,” Kyungsoo said before grabbing his notepad and stumbling out, closing the glass door behind him.

“Alright, what is your problem?” Lu Han asked as soon as the only people left in the room were himself and Kris.

Kris growled, “My problem? My problem is that your designs suck.”

Lu Han scoffed, “Okay, my designs don’t suck and we both know it.”

Kris narrowed his eyes and tried to convince himself that Lu Han was just being a diva as he picked up his cup of Luke-warm coffee. He wanted so much to successfully convince himself that Lu Han was perhaps losing his touch, but he had to admit that the designs were _good_.

“This is about Yixing, isn’t it?” Lu Han piped up when Kris didn’t say anything.

Kris choked on a mouthful coffee, “What?”

Lu Han pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and tossed them at Kris, who was still coughing in his seat. “Ever since you found out that Yixing and I were together, you’ve been acting like a hostile ass towards me. Admit it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kris growled, throwing the unused tissues back at Lu Han and kicking his feet up on the table.

Lu Han rolled his eyes, “Cut the crap, Kris. You like him.”

“You’re joking right?” Kris laughed but failed to convince even himself that the current situation was funny. His picked up his pen instead and started spinning it between his fingers as a distraction.

“Yixing told me about your mutually beneficial arrangements from before I showed up.” Lu Han took a seat a handful of chairs away from Kris, gathering the designs that Kris had thrown into a neat stack on the conference table.

Kris felt a muscle in his jaw twitch and focused on spinning his pen, ignoring the looks that Lu Han were sending him. There was a moment of utter silence in the room before Lu Han sighed loudly. “Whatever. It’s none of my business. You two are stupider than Minseok and I ever were.”

“Minseok? Who’s Minseok?” Kris asked with forehead creased in confusion, feet falling from the table as he sat up straighter in his chair.

“My boyfriend,” Lu Han answered simply as he put his reorganized designs back into their folder. “So can I assume that besides the fact that you hate that I’m sleeping with Yixing, you’re fine with these?”

“Wait, your _boyfriend_?” Kris asked incredulously, having not heard the second half of what Lu Han had said. “Does Yixing know about that?”

Lu Han rolled his eyes and sighed again before closing the folder and standing up again, “I’m just going to take that as a yes, then,” he said with a shake of his head, answering his own question and ignoring Kris’ before leaving the tall creative director alone to stare blankly after him.

…

Kris rang the doorbell to Yixing’s loft and waited impatiently outside, crossing and uncrossing his arms on his chest agitatedly. “Yixing! Open up!” When Kris heard the clicking of the door unlocking, he didn’t wait to be greeted before grabbing the handle and letting himself in.

“Jesus, Kris. Where’s the fire?”

Kris didn’t provide any answer but to lean down and kiss Yixing hard on the lips, not caring if the beer he’d had just before coming was making his mouth taste bitter; the sweet taste of Yixing was overpowering it anyway and he wanted _more_ of it; how had he waited this long to do this?

He felt Yixing’s hands push hard against his chest and he ignored it, the same way he was ignoring Yixing’s soft pleas for him to stop as the shorter male tried to pull backwards. He’d waited so long to feel Yixing’s lips on his own and he didn’t want to stop, even if Yixing was trying his best to slip away.

It wasn’t until he felt Yixing’s entire body go limp that he pulled away, slightly horrified at himself as he took several steps back.

“What the hell was that, Kris?” Yixing asked angrily, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

“Lu Han’s got a boyfriend,” Kris answered in a tiny voice, out of context.

“And that’s supposed to explain why you’ve charged into my home?” Yixing answered without missing a beat.

Kris cocked his head to the side at Yixing’s reaction, “You… you knew?” Kris asked with widened eyes.

“He and Minseok have been an item back in Seoul for five years,” Yixing continued to explain.

“Then… why are you…?”

Yixing rolled his eyes, “Are you stuck in the past, Kris? They’re in an open relationship,” he answered and Kris noted the smallest hint of regret in his voice.

“And you’re okay with the fact that he’s going to be leaving in two months?” Kris knew that he’d hit a sensitive spot when he watched something flash quickly across Yixing’s eyes just before he turned his back to Kris to walk into his living room.

“I…” Yixing hesitated a moment before spinning to face Kris again, eyes hard as they bore into Kris’, “What do you care, Kris?”

“You’re my friend, Yixing,” Kris answered, only half-truthfully, “Of course I care.”

Yixing closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, “I’m fine, Kris. You can go home.”

Neither guest nor owner of the apartment made a move to execute.

Kris didn’t want to leave, and if he was being completely honest, he was suddenly thinking that he didn’t ever want to leave Yixing’s side _ever again_. He took a step forwards and Yixing shuffled a little, but not nearly enough to put sufficient distance between them again.

“Xingxing,” Kris whispered before dropping his lips on top of Yixing’s again, this time with less aggression as he gently coaxed Yixing to respond in like.

“No, wait, Kris,” Yixing murmured in strangled hushed tones when he pulled away, “This is getting too complicated.” He stepped back again until the heel of his foot hit the bottom of his couch.

Kris swallowed hard as he moved to join Yixing again, snaking his arms around Yixing’s small waist and pulling him closer so he could rest his forehead on Yixing’s, “Not complicated, Yixing. This is just what we’ve been doing before, right?” He kissed Yixing lightly again, and then again until Yixing finally reached his hands up on either side of Kris’ face, pulling the taller male closer as he pressed into his chest.

“Yeah, just like before,” Yixing whispered before lifting up onto his toes, his fingers reaching up to fist into Kris’ hair as he finally responded to Kris’ efforts, tongue slipping between Kris’ lips and exploring with hunger.

Kris hummed with pleasure as he pulled Yixing’s shirt over his head and trailed hot kisses from collarbone to neck and back to Yixing’s lips, savouring the taste even when hea knew they were both lying: whatever they were now, it was definitely not the same as what they were before Lu Han had shown up, but Kris didn’t care in the least, not when Yixing was kissing him the way he should have always been since the two met at the company retreat.

…

“Well, you’re in a good mood,” Chanyeol commented cheerfully as he let himself in Kris’ office and sat down in the chair opposite Kris.

Kris cleared his throat and scowled on purpose in an attempt to hide the smile that he’d been wearing on his face ever since waking up in Yixing’s bed that morning, the first time he’d actually stayed overnight since the two had met two months ago. “No, I’m not.”

Chanyeol’s world famous smile lit up his face, “Are you blushing, Kris?” He made an act of getting up and trying to capture the attention of the entire office outside by opening Kris’ door and hollering down the hall, “Quick! Call an ambulance! Your creative director is actually happy!”

Kris ground his teeth together and jumped to his feet to pull the model back inside, “I swear to god, Park Chanyeol, if you didn’t have a shoot this afternoon for my magazine, I would punch you in the face,” he muttered angrily as he closed the door, shooting a warning look at an employee  who had been walking past at the time of the outburst.

Chanyeol laughed again and sat back down, legs crossed as he faced Kris. “Wanna grab some lunch before then?”

Kris chewed on his bottom lip hesitantly; he knew that Chanyeol hardly cared about grabbing a bit of food to eat. “Uh, no. I’ve got some things to catch up on before the shoot this afternoon.”

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Really?” he asked sceptically. “You know, you could just say you’re no longer interested. I wouldn’t be offended,” he joked with a crooked smile.

“What?”

“If you’re hooking up with Jongin over lunch,” Chanyeol leaned forwards to continue in a whisper as if to share a secret even though they were the only people in the room anyway, “He and I are not opposed to _working_ together,” he concluded with a wink as he settled back into his seat.

“What?” Kris answered, taken aback by the sudden suggestion with an arched eyebrow that Chanyeol took to mean interest making him smile even wider. “ _No_ ,” Kris answered emphatically, “Thanks, but, like I said, I have work.”

Chanyeol shrugged as he stood up again, “Whatever. If you say you have work, then I guess you have work. Don’t be late this afternoon!” he called as he started to leave, “You know I work best when you’re there to watch,” Chanyeol laughed again as he waved a goodbye behind him over his head.

Truthfully, Kris’ schedule was unnaturally empty and he had only declined Chanyeol’s offer because he just didn’t want to erase the way Yixing’s sleeping figure had felt curled up against him this morning, his rhythmic breathing blowing at his messy hair as he slept before Kris had brushed the strands behind his ear.

 _Style_ ’s creative director watched Chanyeol dodge a rack of clothes Jongdae was pushing before looking down at his office phone, contemplating whether he should call Yixing and ask if he wanted lunch. After dialling and hanging up five times, Kris finally allowed the line to Yixing’s extension ring until the latter picked up with a hello. “Hey, Yixing, you busy today? Want to grab lunch?” Kris hoped desperately that he sounded breezy.

“Oh, uhm,” Yixing answered hesitantly, and Kris imagined him chewing on his thumbnail nervously, “I was supposed to meet Lu Han…”

Kris felt his chest constrict and he was suddenly annoyed with himself for assuming Yixing would take his offer just because he asked. “Oh, never mind,” he amended quickly, feelings showing more in his voice than he would have liked. He swallowed a curse and tried again to make his voice sound more aloof than he felt. “Another time, then,” Kris finished, removing the phone from his ear regretfully.

“Wait!” The phone was up against Kris’ ear again even before the end of the word had carried through, “If you want, I mean only if it’s okay with you, you could come with us? I’m sure Lu Han wouldn’t mind.”

The thought of seeing Yixing overshadowed any doubts as he agreed hastily. Kris was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for his heart to feel like it was going to leap out of his chest at the thought of going to lunch.

*

 _I should’ve said no_ , Kris found himself thinking to himself repeatedly as he stabbed at his salad with the sound of Yixing’s giggling playing in the background.

“Stop it, Lu Han!” Yixing squeaked as he squirmed away from Lu Han, tucking his ear away into his neck as he tried to dodge Lu Han’s attempts at being more intimate. “Drink your soup!”

 _I’m going to fucking_ kill _Lu Han._ _Then resuscitate him so I can kill him again._

Lu Han pouted and kissed Yixing lightly on the cheek before picking up his spoon, “Fine, but only because it’s you who’s asking,” he cooed; Kris was pretty sure that the exaggerated way that Lu Han hooked his left hand around Yixing’s waist was a show just for Kris.

Yixing shot Lu Han a glare before excusing himself to go to the bathroom, untangling himself for Lu Han’s travelling hands to stand up. Lu Han didn’t miss the opportunity to pull Yixing down by the neck tie to kiss him, “Hurry back, okay? I already miss you.”

Kris didn’t look up and continued poking his fork aggressively at leaves of baby spinach and arugula. _I’m going to take his steak knife and twist it in his chest._ When Yixing left the table, Kris felt Lu Han staring at him but he kept his attention fixedly on his own meal, refusing to return Lu Han’s gaze.

“Jealous that Yixing’s sitting next to me and not you?” Lu Han finally asked as his metal spoon clinked against the sides of his soup bowl.

Kris finally looked up to glare at Lu Han, “ _No_.”

Lu Han put down his spoon in favour of picking up a fork and twirling a string of Yixing’s spaghetti with it, eyes trained on Kris the entire time. “Yixing tells me that you guys are back to the way things were before, and I can’t say I’m terribly pleased about that.”

Kris’ jaw clenched, “Not sure if that matters, because you’ve got a boyfriend back home, haven’t you?”

Lu Han kissed his teeth, “Tch. You’re so obvious, Kris. If you want Yixing for yourself, just say so.”

Kris bit his bottom lip and dropped his fork loudly. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and dropped a couple bills on the table in front of him as he stood up, “Tell Yixing I have some things to do back at the office.”

Kris didn’t miss the snicker from Lu Han as he turned to leave.

*

Kris arrived at the photo-shoot practically starving, and it didn’t help his irritated state that everyone working on set were idiots and didn’t have a single clue about how to do things. Even Chanyeol looked like he a flailing idiot who didn’t know the first thing about professional modelling.

“Fuck,” Kris cursed, throwing his arms up in exasperation, “Take five, everyone. And when we come back, I hope you will all have learned what ‘not sucking’ means.” Kris wandered back to his seat and dropped his head into his hands with a groan. Why was _nothing_ going smoothly?

“What the hell happened to you in the last two hours?” Chanyeol asked with concern, coming up beside Kris in his half unbuttoned shirt and leaning his arm onto Kris’ shoulder. “What happened to the guy who was flying high in his office?”

Kris turned and eyed Chanyeol a moment before getting up and grabbing him around the wrist. “Scratch that, make it ten!” He called behind him as he pulled Chanyeol into the nearest dressing room, sending out a stylist out angrily.

*

The rest of the photo shoot passed by smoothly and without any significant difficulties, and the crew was packing up ahead of schedule. Kris found himself back in his office with half an hour to spare before his next scheduled rendezvous.

The only thing wrong with the afternoon was how nauseous he felt, the sickeningly intoxicating scent of Chanyeol’s expensive cologne mixing with his own into a blend of guilt and lust that suffocated the momentary elation from this morning when Kris had opened his eyes to find Yixing snoring quietly beside him.

…

“Hey, have you seen Lu Han?” Kris asked his assistant, impatiently holding his hand out for his messages. “We were supposed to go over designs half an hour ago.”

Kyungsoo shrugged from behind his desk, “Nope, not since he left for lunch. Have you tried down on the twelfth floor?”

Kris’ jaw clenched and he tried to conceal his frustration with the implied situation Kyungsoo was referring to by flipping through the pile of messages he’d been handed. In fact, he _had_ considered calling Yixing to see if he knew where Lu Han was, but the thought of the two together had been enough to make him hang up the phone.

Despite the agreement to do revert back to their previous agreement, Kris and Yixing hadn’t seen each other once. It hadn’t been on active decision on Kris’ part at first, but after Yixing had pushed an appointment with Kris in favour of meeting with Lu Han _twice_ , Kris had stopped trying. It wasn’t long after that that Kris realised he was _jealous_ , jealous that Yixing put him consistently second to Lu Han. He hated the way his chest constricted tightly whenever he saw Lu Han and Yixing laughing together, an occurrence that happened too frequently for Kris to believe that Lu Han wasn’t doing it on purpose just to mock Kris.

And to be jealous, Kris had finally acknowledged, meant that perhaps, _perhaps_ he was actually falling in love with Yixing.

Kris blinked out of his reverie and turned to find an expectant look on Kyungsoo’s face. “Uhm, sorry, what?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, before repeating his question, “Do you want me to call down to ask?”

Kris replaced his messages on the table as he contemplated what he wanted to do, “No, I need to stretch my legs anyway, I’ll check myself.” It had been over two weeks and Kris wanted to see Yixing, even if it might mean he’d have to see him with someone else.

“Remember that you have a pitch meeting with your editors in a half hour,” Kyungsoo called out as Kris stepped into the elevator car.

Kris braced himself as the elevator chrome doors slid open smoothly on the twelfth floor, almost expecting the image of Yixing and the annoying designer with locked lips in Yixing’s office. He didn’t know quite what to feel when he found the office empty except for a shorter male that Kris recalled Yixing had introduced once as his assistant. “Baekhyun, right?” he called out tentatively, hoping he’d gotten the name right.

“Yes, Mr. Wu?” the brunette answered, looking up from organizing the pages on Yixing’s desk.

“Has, er, has Lu Han been by today?” Kris asked, crossing his arms to keep his fingers from wringing together anxiously.

“Yeah, he and Mr. Zhang left to grab some lunch an hour ago. They should be back any time now.” Kris stared at Baekhyun even after the latter had stopped talking. “Mr. Wu? Did you need something?”

Kris waited another moment as he looked the other male up and down before swallowing hard, “Do you want to grab dinner or something tomorrow?” he blurted out.

Baekhyun blinked twice. “What?”

“Dinner,” Kris repeated flatly. “You free tomorrow evening?”

Baekhyun dropped the files he had gathered into his arms with a bright blush flooding into his cheeks. Kris wanted to growl at the look but instead managed a half smile just as a distant _ding_ signalled the arrival of the elevator. He turned his head instinctively at the sound to find the chrome doors opening to reveal the two people he had come down in search for in the first place. He turned around again to face Baekhyun, “I’ll come get you after work tomorrow and we can head down together?”

“Uhm, yeah, okay,” Baekhyun replied, smiling so widely that Kris wondered dully if his cheeks might crack.

“Good,” Kris answered curtly before turning again, finding himself face to face with Yixing, as he’d expected.

“What are you doing down here, Kris?”

“Asking your assistant out on a date,” Kris answered nonchalantly as he looked around Yixing, “Where’s Lu Han?” he asked offhandedly.

“Went upstairs to look for you. Said he was late for a meeting.” Yixing answered quickly before he cocked his head to the side, peering at his assistant from around Kris. “Why would you ask Baekhyun out?” he asked with what Kris was hoping was an annoyed tone.

Kris shrugged, “Why not? He’s cute.” Kris didn’t bother looking at Yixing again as he started towards the elevator doors, turning around to walk backwards. “I’ll see you later, Xing. I’ve gotta get back upstairs before Lu Han starts getting the idea to say that _I_ ’m the one who’s late.”

As he turned back around to hit the elevator button to go up, Kris let himself hope that the furrowed brow on Yixing’s face hadn’t just been because Kris was making fun of Lu Han. He knew he was being petty and selfish, but maybe if Kris started going out with the assistant, the boss would pay more attention to him.

…

Kris came home to his loft after his dinner with Baekhyun to find Yixing pacing the hallway in front of his door. When he failed to bring the corners of his mouth down into a more neutral expression, Kris ducked his head as he approached his door, sticking his key in the lock as he purposely refrained from acknowledging Yixing’s presence. The silence continued until Kris had opened the door, throwing his keys onto his couch after his jacket and not bothering to pretend to close his door; he knew Yixing was right behind him and he wasn’t going to be the first to break the awkward silent air between them.

“Weren’t you on a date with Baekhyun?” Yixing finally asked.

Kris hummed an agreement as he got his face under control and turned to face Yixing, “Yeah, I was. Just got back.”

Yixing exaggeratedly glanced around the apartment, “Well, couldn’t have been a very good date if you didn’t bring him home,” he mocked with a grimace.

Kris shrugged as he answered in a suggestive tone, “That doesn’t mean we weren’t at his place before I came home,” he paused to smile before continuing, “Or maybe there’s the possibility that I’m not just looking to get into his pants. Maybe I’m looking for a real relationship.”

Yixing opened his mouth and closed it half a second later, face grim. “Don’t play around with Baekhyun, Kris. He’s a good guy.”

“Who says I’m playing?” Kris crossed his arms, writing offense onto his face.

The skin against the tendon in Yixing’s neck tightened as he clenched his jaw. “Don’t use my assistant to get back at me for being with Lu Han, Kris. Baekyun’s innocent.”

Arms still folded, Kris took a step towards Yixing, trying to control the angry bubbling that had made itself home in his stomach at the mention of Lu Han by putting on a smile that contrasted with the way his eyes flashed dangerously, “Are you jealous that I’m involved with guys that aren’t you?” Yixing’s eyes darkened which only made Kris smirk even more, “You and I were never exclusive, remember? You’ve always known I’ve been with guys other than you, _remember, Yixing?_ That was part of the deal between you and me.” Kris didn’t add that he hadn’t called any of the other numbers in his phone for the past week, save for the one time he’d dialled Jongin when Kris had been feeling particularly annoyed about Yixing being with Lu Han. “You have Lu Han, and now I have Baekhyun. I think it’s fair, _don’t you_?”

Yixing glared up at Kris a beat longer before swinging the front door open and slamming it shut behind him as he stormed out, making the owner of the home jump at the loud bang that reverberated through the loft.

Eyes stingingly red, Kris tried to convince himself that the unreadable expression all over Yixing’s face was one of envy as he turned around and kicked over a kitchen chair on his way to his bedroom.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

For employees of _Style_ , Fashion Week and the week preceding it was like a prolonged Boxing Day for retail workers, running around like chickens with their heads cut off as they rushed to meet innumerable deadlines. Kris barely even had a chance to grab a bagel to eat in between hurrying from meetings with designers, sponsors, and venue representatives, on top of appearing at press conferences. The creative designer lived on four hours of sleep a night (if he was lucky) and a strict diet of coffee, energy bars, and the occasional pack of gummy bears. 

 

But while the hectic status of his cramped schedule was the excuse Kris used to blow off dates with Baekhyun, it wasn’t the real reason Kris had stopped making an effort to emphasize his relationship with Baekhyun in front of the _NaturEats’_ editor-in-chief. Kris was simply tired. He was tired of putting on a smile whenever he forced himself downstairs to “just say hi” to Baekhyun all the while trying to subtly get the attention of Yixing in his office. More tiring still was having to act like he was perfectly fine with that damn Lu Han sticking his tongue down Yixing’s throat at every opportunity, daring Kris to do anything about it.  The creative director was just grateful for the fact that Yixing seemed to have stopped showing up at _Style_ , an action that Kris took to mean Yixing was just as uncomfortable being around Kris as Kris was getting around Yixing; the chaos of Fashion Week didn’t give him the opportunity to explore the reason.

Kris didn’t bother looking up from his desk when a knock sounded at his door. “You’ve got two minutes,” he muttered, eyebrows furrowing as he looked over the numbers on the _f(x) Cosmetics_ account, which were anything but acceptable.

“I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you lunch.”

Recognizing the voice, the pen that Kris had been spinning between his fingers fell to the table with a clatter as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself before looking up with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry Baekie. I’m really busy today.” He dropped his attention back to the pages on his desk, bringing a finger to his temple as he picked up his pen once more and began circle unsatisfactory numbers on the page in front of him.

Baekhyun frowned as he fell into the seat across the table from Kris. “Oh, come on, Kris. Don’t you have even fifteen minutes to spare?”

“No, Baekhyun. I don’t,” Kris snapped, a week’s worth of stress and anxiety fuelling his irritation as he threw his pen onto the table and stood up to pace the small space between his chair and the wall. “I have a million things to do and hardly enough time to do them all. I have fifty designers that are acting like princesses with their shows, sponsors who aren’t answering my calls, tech people who can’t seem to make any of their own decisions and don’t even get me started on the models.” As Kris paused to take a breath, he noticed how Baekhyun has shrunk into his seat with a guilty stab. Somewhere in the back of his head, Kris knew that Baekhyun had done absolutely nothing to complicate Kris’ life that the tall blonde hadn’t brought upon himself, but it didn’t stop him from starting an agitated rant about his busy life. Kris sighed and spoke again with less aggression, “I’m sorry Baekhyun. I’m just taking out my stress on you. Tell you what, once Fashion Week is over, you and I should go out for a nice dinner, okay? None of this take-out-in-my-office business.”

Baekhyun smiled weakly with a subtle nod, “Yeah, that sounds good.” He stood up out of his seat and headed to the door, pausing enough to spin around to point at the take-out bag he’d left on Kris’ desk. “You should take care of your health properly, Kris.”

Kris rolled his eyes as soon as Baekhyun left his office, eyes watching his supposed boyfriend almost walk into a glass art piece for one of the shows and then tripping into a model. Kris shook his head and leaned over his desk again, trusting Chanyeol to show Baekhyun safely to the elevator doors.

…

Kris raised his champagne flute half-heartedly to clink glasses with Lu Han at the after party of the designer’s fashion show. “Congratulations on another great collection, Lu Han,” Kris said with practiced sincerity.

“Naw, thank _you_ for holding such a great Fashion Week, Kris,” Lu Han returned, raising his glass in acknowledgement before drinking.

“Couldn’t have done it without a great finishing act from such an acclaimed designer, though,” Kris returned, masking his continual hate for the designer with a flattering voice.

Lu Han laughed, “Well, I _am_ pretty good, aren’t I?”

Before Kris had to come up with something witty, a reporter tapped Lu Han on the shoulder. Kris nodded to Lu Han and turned to leave with a huge sigh of relief, only to find Baekhyun staring straight at him from the entrance. Resigned to the fact that he could hardly keep avoiding Baekhyun, especially now that Fashion Week was officially over, Kris cleared his throat and headed towards the shorter male.

“Congratulations on a successful Fashion Week, Mr. Kris Wu,” Baekhyun greeted with a grin.

Kris laughed lightly, “I’m just glad it’s over. And what are you doing all the way out here? Why not come on inside? I’ll introduce you to some people.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “No thanks. I’m leaving soon.”

Kris raised an eyebrow in surprise as he checked his watch, “But it’s only ten. Night’s still young.”

Baekhyun shook his head, “I only came to talk to you,” he explained, voice serious enough that it made Kris frown as he waited for Baekhyun to continue. “I think we should see other people, Kris.” Kris didn’t bother giving a response, choosing instead to simply continue standing with arms at his side as he waited for Baekhyun to continue. “I mean, I don’t even think you _want_ this to work out, Kris. We’ve been out to dinner that one time, and then you’ve been so ‘busy’ with all your Fashion Week stuff that you haven’t even _bothered_ to send me even a short text message saying hello or ‘Yeah, I’m still alive’ or something.” Baekhyun swallowed hard and his eyes strayed from Kris’ gaze. “I met someone else.”

Kris’ eyebrows shot up into his forehead, “Oh?” he asked, more as a reflex than out of actual curiosity.

“Hey, Baek! You ready to go?”

Kris spun around at the familiar voice, “Chanyeol?” he asked in mild disbelief, recalling the way the short male had stumbled into the tall model in _Style_ ’s busy hallways over a week ago. “You met _Chanyeol_?”

“Geez, calm down, Kris,” Chanyeol commented, as he stepped towards Baekhyun and took his small hand with his own.

“Chanyeol?” Kris repeated as he continued to stare blankly with eyebrows still raised.

The taller half of the couple shrugged, “I didn’t think you’d mind, given what Baekhyun has told me. You two haven’t even been on an official second date. And you and me, well, I haven’t gotten a call from you in forever anyway, so I just assumed…”

Kris laughed loudly, “Nono, it’s totally fine. It’s just… you know, a surprise is all.” He was waving the couple away before his brain processed the last part of Chanyeol’s explanation, the comment about Kris not having called in forever. Forever wasn’t exactly the most accurate word, but the last time Kris had ‘seen’ Chanyeol was at the photo shoot right after the disastrous lunch with Lu Han and Yixing where he had wanted to twist a steak knife in the chest of _Style_ ’s contractor.

_Yixing._

Kris sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair at the memory of Yixing slamming the door at Kris’ loft after telling him to leave Baekhyun alone. It was the last time Kris had actually spoken to Yixing apart from the occasional hello the two exchanged whenever they ran into each other unexpectedly in the lobby of _EXO Publications_.

The tall male downed the rest of his champagne in one shot, turning around to look for the refreshment table where he could find a refill. Instead, he found the subject of his frustration leaning on a far wall and staring blankly into the glass in his hand. After a couple arguments with himself on whether to approach the male with a spaced out look on his face, Kris finally put down his glass on an edge before willing his legs to move forwards.

It took a curt ‘Hey’ from Kris to get Yixing to look up from his glass with a startled expression that grew heavy when he recognized his addressee. “Oh. Hi, Kris,” Yixing greeted, shifting slightly on his feet and avoiding eye contact by looking into the crowd behind Kris.

“Here with Lu Han, I’m guessing?” Kris tried, receiving a distracted nod in return. “Why aren’t you with him right now?”

Yixing looked like he was trying even harder to avoid Kris’ gaze, tipping back his glass into his mouth before answering. “Oh, uhm, he’s on a call from someone back home in Seoul.”

Kris played with the idea of Lu Han talking on the phone with his boyfriend back home and thought better than to bring it up with Yixing. Instead, he grabbed a freshly topped flute from the tray of a waiter walking past and leaned on the wall next to Yixing with their shoulders almost touching, watching people chat in groups and throwing the heads back in obvious forced laughter. “So, you and Lu Han getting along good?” he asked awkwardly in a poor attempt to make conversation; Yixing only hummed in response. Kris swallowed hard, knocking back his second drink in five minutes before opening his mouth again. “We need to stop… whatever this is between us. We can’t see each other outside work anymore.” If Kris wasn’t feeling extremely self-conscious, he would have laughed at his own suggestion; besides that one time since Kris had learned about Minseok, the two hadn’t been together at all.

For the first time that night, Yixing looked up at Kris, “Oh. Uhm. Of course,” Yixing replied hesitantly before abruptly swinging his attention to in front of him again, chewing his lower lip as he stared into a spot somewhere in the middle of the party.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us, you know?” Kris continued to stare down at Yixing, desperately wishing Yixing would disagree, to say that Kris was wrong. ‘ _No, Kris. You’re wrong. I want to keep seeing you. I’ve missed you these past couple of weeks. Forget Lu Han, he’s no good for me at all. You’re_ perfect _for me.’_

“You’re right,” Yixing replied in a small voice, barely audible over the chatter and Kris had to swallow to cover up the sting he felt in his chest at Yixing’s easy agreement. “I mean, I’ve got Lu Han and you’re with Baekhyun now, right? I guess it’s best for both of us if we didn’t… you know… see each other… as more than… friends anymore.”

“Your assistant and I aren’t together anymore,” Kris said flatly and shrugged as he pulled his arms up to fold together tightly across his chest in an unsuccessful effort to push out the ache that had settled there. He hesitated a moment before continuing, deciding that it was likely he would never again feel up to telling the truth after tonight, “You might have been right about me trying to use him to get your attention because I was annoyed about you and Lu Han.”

Yixing snorted beside him, “Worked didn’t it?” he muttered, and Kris recalled the way Yixing had been pacing in front of his door weeks before tonight.

Kris shook his head with a smile that didn’t grace his eyes as he replied in a low voice, “You’re still with Lu Han, aren’t you?” When Yixing didn’t say anything in return, Kris decided it was time to finish up before he said anything to further hack away at the pride he was already losing. He pushed himself off the wall and took a couple step forwards so he could face Yixing again. “Whatever _this_ was. I want it to be over. I’m done feeling frustrated all the time because of you Yixing.” Yixing continued to avoid Kris’ eyes and in a last bout of irritation at the lack of the desired reaction, Kris leaned down and kissed Yixing lightly on the cheek, “I really hope you and Lu Han work out, Xingxing,” he whispered into Yixing’s ear, sincere if only he wasn’t feeling so wounded. He let himself hover there a beat longer before pulling back and slapping on a forced smile a last time as he turned to leave.

Yixing finally spoke up as Kris took his first step, “Lu Han’s leaving in two weeks, Kris.” Kris couldn’t tell if the desperation in Yixing’s voice was attributed to Lu Han leaving or a plea for Kris to continue holding on to Yixing until Lu Han left. Either way, Kris didn’t want to spend any more sleepless nights wondering about the ambiguous actions of the redheaded editor-in-chief of a stupid nutrition magazine that was probably pulling in an inconsequential fraction of what Style earned. Teeth grinding together painfully, Kris picked up his feet once more, putting distance between himself and the reason for the stinging in his eyes.

…

After the confrontation with Yixing, Kris made himself busy, checking in to work right after Lu Han’s show, a Sunday. The office was deathly quiet in comparison to the busy hurrying of employees racing against the clock the week before. Work for the next issue had been put on the backburner for the sake of Fashion Week, and there was much to catch up on.

Standing at the photocopier as he waited for the machine to spit out pages, Kris’ mind wandered against its owner’s will towards Yixing once more, focusing on the last thing the younger had said last night.

_Lu Han’s leaving in two weeks, Kris._

Despite his made up mind to move on from Yixing, Kris couldn’t help but break into a grin at the thought of Lu Han finally leaving back to Seoul, of the constant reminder of his failed first love finally disappearing from his everyday life. As the photocopier quieted at the end of its job, Kris snapped to his senses, grimacing at himself for letting his mind wander towards the cooking dimwit. He grabbed the pages from the tray hastily and stormed out of the copy room.

…

Wednesday marked exactly one week before Lu Han’s contract ended. Kris remembered the day clearly because it was the same day that he met Kim Minseok for the first time.

Kris first encountered the childlike face in the cafeteria while waiting in line to pay for his morning coffee. He’d remembered thinking to himself that the stranger would have made for a good model if it weren’t for his height. Kris didn’t pay him another thought until he was back in his office, when Lu Han was dropping off fabric swatches.

“You only have a week left, Lu Han. Stop starting new things and just tie off any loose ends,” Kris berated good-naturedly as his best attempt to be civil towards the guy who had stolen the attention of the man he may or may not be in love with.

Before Lu Han could open his mouth to reply, a third voice called out the designer’s name, making both Lu Han and Kris turn towards the door.

“Minseok?” Lu Han clarified before a grin pulled the corners of his mouth to his ears, eyes sparkling with delight. “What are you doing here?” He dropped everything that he had been holding in his hands to rush to the newcomer to Kris’ office, wrapping him in a bear hug that made the receiver cough.

“I came a week before you were supposed to return to Seoul to surprise you, obviously.”

Kris scowled when Lu Han grabbed Minseok around the waist and pulled him away from Kris’ office, obviously having completely forgotten that he had been in the middle of a discussion about his newest designs. Kris stared after them even though he hardly wanted to watch the two huddle their heads together, sharing secrets only they understood. His thoughts suddenly reached out to Yixing again, wondering how he would react to Lu Han’s boyfriend coming for surprise visit; Kris thought it likely that Yixing had intended to spend as much time with Lu Han as possible before the latter had to leave in a week’s time, a plan that seemed unlikely to succeed with these new development.

When a laugh erupted from Lu Han for a fifth time, Kris slammed an unfinished copy of The Book closed and grabbed his jacket to leave, ignoring the surprised reminders of scheduled appointments that Kyungsoo threw after him.

…

Kris woke up before his alarm went off the next morning and he lay in bed staring at his ceiling. Half an hour later when his phone went off at exactly 6:00am, his left arm shot out and returned with device in hand, promptly hitting the ‘dismiss alarm’ option with his thumb before dropping his arm to his side again to continue staring straight up blindly. Deciding he _really_ didn’t want to go into the office today and feign cooperation with Lu Han, Kris closed his eyes briefly again before bringing his hand up to stare at the screen of his phone. He pondered if Yixing had discovered about Minseok’s surprise visit yet and after unlocking and locking his phone a tenth time, Kris leaned over the side of his bed and slid his phone across the hardwood floor with resolve to not care, wincing a little when the small device collided softly against the wall. Deciding that lying in bed staring at his ceiling would only encourage his mind to drift back towards Yixing, Kris pulled himself upright, knees bent so his elbows could rest on them as he ran his fingers through his hair once before getting up to head into the shower.

Kris spent much of his day sitting in front of his television in a loose pair of jeans and an old t-shirt from his university days, flipping through reruns of scripted reality shows in between midday talk shows that tried to teach him how to slow-cook a supposedly delicious lamb stew (Kris had to change the channel when the chef started to look a lot like a certain red head). By the time he picked up his phone to order dinner, Kris’ thumb was starting to cramp with the hours of channel surfing.

Sometime between his third slice of ‘meat lover’s’ pizza, his second bottle of single malt scotch whiskey, and an angsty teenage drama (that Kris would _never_ admit to watching voluntarily), his doorbell rang. Grumbling as he got to his feet with a slight wobble, Kris contemplated for a moment how he would explain his current state to his assistant, who was surely on the other side of the door with a prepared speech about Kris neglecting his duties at work in favour of drinking in his home alone like an alcoholic. Instead, when Kris opened his front door, he had to blink twice to be sure that the person standing in front of him wasn’t a hallucination. “Yixing?”

Yixing shrugged into place the falling strap of the duffel bag swinging at his side as he balanced a tall stack of video game cases topped with a tub of strawberry ice cream. The younger male shoved the entire pile into Kris’ chest in exchange for the bottle Kris was still holding, bringing the liquor to his mouth and taking several long swallows.

“What are you doing here, Yixing?” Kris asked in confusion, struggling with drunken difficulty to balance the plastic cases Yixing had thrust into his arms.

Yixing kicked his shoes off haphazardly as he closed the front door and as an afterthought, turned around to grab the container of ice cream just as the rest of the pile collapsed out of Kris’ arms and clattered noisily onto the hardwood floor. “What, just because we’re not having sex anymore, we can’t be friends?” He fell into Kris’ couch, dropping his duffel beside him before peeling off the backpack he had been wearing.

“I thought we agreed that we shouldn’t see each other outside of work anymore.” Kris crouched down to clean up the mess he’d just caused, his intoxicated body complaining at the strain for equilibrium and opting instead to seat Kris on his bottom as he gathered Yixing’s games together.

Ignoring Kris’ comment, Yixing picked up the game console remote sitting on Kris’ coffee table with one hand while taking yet another sip from the bottle in his other hand. “What d’ya wanna play, Kris?”

Kris sighed heavily as he got to his feet again, taking a couple of long strides before dropping all the video games into Yixing’s lap unceremoniously. “I’m not really in the mood to play video games, Yixing.”

Standing up so abruptly that all the cases fell onto the ground again, Yixing grabbed the duffel bag and ripped open the zipper, pulling out box after box, “Okay. Then how about Monopoly? Or The Game of Life? Chess, maybe? Oooh, I haven’t played Clue in a while!” Yixing piled the colourful game boxes on Kris’ couch, the rectangular boxes sliding over each other and almost falling off the leather-lined piece of furniture completely. “I know I have a deck of cards in here somewhere… “Yixing continued to himself as he dove further into the bag.

Perplexed with Yixing’s odd behaviour, Kris grabbed Yixing’s arm and pulled it from the bag, making the latter drop the pack of cards onto the floor. “ _What are you doing, Yixing?”_

Yixing pulled his arm back to himself forcefully and bent down to pick up the dropped box and then pull out another game from his bag. “We’re playing games! _Friends_ play games together, right?” He opened the box of Scrabble and unfolded the board, making sure to align the straight edges of it with Kris’ coffee table as he sunk down to cross his legs on the floor. “Well? Aren’t you going to sit down?” Yixing asked, motioning towards the other side of the table with one hand and gathering the lettered tiles into the cloth bag with the other hand.

Kris’ jaw clenched as he watched Yixing collect the square tiles, “You need to leave, Xing. I’ve gotta get back to…” he turned around trying to recall what exactly he’d been doing before Yixing arrived with his frenzied desire to play board games with Kris. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. You just have to go, okay?” He reached his hand down to grab Yixing’s arm again.

“ _No_ ,” Yixing shot back, pushing Kris’ hand away as he stubbornly remained rooted to the hardwood floor, “I’m not leaving okay? Where would I go?”

Kris rolled his eyes, “I dunno, home, maybe?” he suggested sarcastically as he crossed his arms.

Yixing swallowed visibly as he continued to avoid Kris’ eye, voice dropping to barely above a whisper, “No, I can’t go home,” Yixing started to explain, playing nervously with the bottom of his shirt, “Lu Han’s been staying with me since he arrived a couple months ago. And he’s there now with Minseok, and I just _can’t_ , okay, Kris? I can’t go home and face… them… together like that.”

Kris swallowed hard as he watched the expression on Yixing’s face fall dark. He took a deep breath and slowly settled onto the floor across from Yixing, grabbing his liquor bottle back and taking a hit. “I’m too loaded to make actual words with random letters,” he muttered, “We could try Checkers maybe.” Yixing looked up excessively brightly and Kris felt his chest tighten uncomfortably at how hard Yixing was trying to look excited to play _Checkers_.

The tall blond let his house guest win seven games in a row before Yixing realised that Kris was losing on purpose, at which point he suggested, in between spoonfuls of ice cream, they play another game, suggesting that Kris choose the next game while he went to find more liquor in the cabinet behind Kris.

“Stop, Yixing,” Kris said out loud while still seated on his living room floor, tone serious as Yixing walked past him. “No more games.”

Silence fell in the living room as Yixing’s footsteps stopped less than a foot from Kris, who leaned over to pick up a ‘G’ tile that Yixing must have dropped when he had started to set up Scrabble. As Kris opened his mouth to speak again, he felt Yixing kneel behind him, arms reaching around to slip his hand through the opening at the top of Kris’ shirt. “Fine, no more games,” Yixing whispered, lips at Kris’ ear, tongue flicking out to play with the back of an earring, making the latter shiver involuntarily as Yixing’s other hand trailed down to the zipper on his jeans.

When he heard himself let slip a soft moan with his eyes closed, Kris stood up abruptly, disentangling himself from Yixing’s arms. “No, stop, Xing. _Stop it_ ,” he repeated, when Yixing promptly stood up as well and pulled at Kris’ shirt, “Stop using me whenever you’re upset about Lu Han and his boyfriend from back home in Seoul.”

Yixing’s hands immediately stopped moving, fingers still closed around Kris’ shirt, “Wh-what are you talking about? That’s not true.”

Kris sighed, “The last time we were together, the first time that it… _meant_ something more than just good sex for me, that was because I’d brought up that Lu Han had someone back home already.” The tall male gently removed Yixing’s hand, holding it in his own in a reluctance to let go of the temporary closeness it provided, “I don’t want that to start being our thing.” Kris bit his lip as he stared back into Yixing’s eyes, the brown orbs searching his own. Yixing’s look hardened and he glared at Kris a long moment before jerking his hand back to himself, spinning around sharply and heading for the door, not bothering to put on the shoes that he grabbed on the way out.

Yixing left his video games, the still open game of Checkers and the now melting tub of ice-cream sitting in Kris’ living room where the owner of the home clenched his fingers in his hair shakily.

…

Kris showed up for work the next day with the excuse that he had “one of those one-day stomach bug thingies” as his reason for his absence the day before, and using his hung-over state as proof of his poor health. Kyungsoo gave him little more than a suspicious raised eyebrow before he started shoving things at his boss to sign.

In spite of his throbbing headache, Kris was relieved for the mountains of work that waited for him when he returned after a day and a half of absence, using the distraction to keep from thinking about the way he had left things with Yixing last night. He slept at the office that night, wishing his assistant a good weekend with a fake promise that he would go home himself at a reasonable time. Instead, he spent the weekend at the office as well, sifting through pictures to choose which would look best for next month’s center spread and sleeping on his office couch at night.

He ignored eight calls from Yixing before turning off his phone and burying it at the bottom of the lowest drawer on his metal filing cabinet.

Monday brought with it a heckling Kyungsoo who had noticed that Kris was wearing the same thing as he had on Friday, younger scolding the older for his trash bin, now overflowing with empty paper cups and smelling of stale coffee.

On the other hand, Lu Han had finally taken Kris’ words seriously, barely showing up to the office save to fill in paperwork for the Human Resources department, for which Kris was immensely grateful, though he was pretty sure it was less because of Kris than because the designer wanted to spend time showing his boyfriend around the city. Kris didn’t let himself think about how Yixing must be doing; every time he found his mind even hinting at the name, he focused harder on the work before him.

When Kyungsoo forced him home that night, Kris avoided the living room (still laden with Yixing’s belongings) and headed straight to his bedroom.

…

An early call on Tuesday gave Kris some of the best news in a while; there had been a sudden dismissal of the editor-in-chief of _Style France_ , and Kris was _EXO Publication_ ’s first choice for her replacement. Kris was saying yes even before the voice on the other end of the line was finished explaining his future responsibilities on the two-year contract. He hardly cared that the pay was only marginally better; the selling point had been simply that he could start immediately, leaving behind his projects as creative director, among other things.

Or people.

Kris forwent the goodbye party for Lu Han in favour of going home to pack to leave the next afternoon; he didn’t bother telling Kyungsoo about the promotion lest the young assistant forced him to take part in the farewell festivities _with Lu Han_.

…

Wednesday morning, as Kris rolled his luggage out to the door, he paused in front of the untouched pile of Yixing’s things from the week before. With a heavy sigh, Kris finally deigned to put away the open game of Checkers, organizing the rest of the board game boxes into a neat pile at the base of his television stand next to Yixing’s bags. Wondering when he would be home again, Kris gave his loft a last scan before closing the door and pocketing the key. As an afterthought, he removed the key again and tiptoed to place it on the small ledge of the door frame as he pulled his phone (he’d finally removed it from its jail and Yixing hadn’t tried to contact him since) out to spell out a text message.

_Yixing, I’m going to France. You can pick up your stuff whenever. I left the key on the ledge above my door._

*

Kris tapped his foot in time with the music playing from his iPod to his ears, waiting for the next available agent to help his get his luggage checked. Bored, he scanned the busy airport around him, not looking for anything in particular until his eye caught sight of a familiar redhead flying through one of the entrances. Alarmed, the tall male blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t imagining the figure just as a curt voice called out “Next!” As he handed the airport clerk his documents, Kris chanced a look behind him once more; yes, that was definitely Yixing with the harried look about him as he approached an information kiosk, jacket sliding off one shoulder as he gestured wildly at the employee behind the counter.

As Kris dutifully answered questions about his carry-on, he pushed down the initial swelling in his chest he had felt at the idea that Yixing might be here to send Kris off; the young head of the nutrition magazine was more likely to be here to see off Lu Han, who was also scheduled to leave this afternoon. He didn’t let himself turn around to look for the familiar figure that he hadn’t seen in a week, smiling politely as he took his passport back and headed to check in with security. His path, however, was blocked by Yixing, who was trying to catch his breath as he stared Kris down, hair sticking up in odd places.

“What the hell is this?” the shorter male asked, holding up his phone and displaying the text message that Kris had sent an hour earlier.

Kris couldn’t decide what to feel. His heart wanted to leap out of his chest with the knowledge that Yixing was here for _him_ , not Lu Han, but he was annoyed with himself for having been so careless. _Why_ did he text Yixing about leaving to Paris? He should have just disappeared without saying anything; a clean cut from Yixing.

_Because I wanted to see if he would care that I was leaving._

Conflicted, Kris chose to ignore the question and walked deliberately around Yixing to continue on his way to security. He only managed a handful of steps before he felt a rough hand around his wrist. “Kris!”

Kris sighed heavily at his name being yelled before turning around, “It’s exactly what it says, Yixing,” he answered in an even voice with calm that surprised even himself. “I’m going to Paris to run _Style France_. If you want your games back, I’ve left my key above the door.”

Yixing stared blankly back up at Kris, who fought the urge to hug the smaller male, to hold him a last time before he travelled what felt like a world away. “So… you’re just going to… leave me behind?” Yixing asked in a tiny voice.

 _Yes, I have to, or it’s just going to hurt too much. I’m_ tired _, Xing._

“How long will you be gone for?”

“It’s a two year contract,” Kris answered flatly, determined to remain detached.

“Kris…” Yixing started, putting his hand up to smooth an invisible crease on the lapel of Kris’ jacket, eyes dropping to stare at his fingers.

Kris’ jaw clenched and his knuckles whitened against the plastic handle of his carry-on. “I’m going to be late for my flight,” he stated in a deadened voice as he removed Yixing’s hand from his chest, turning away reluctantly as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat uncomfortably.

“I’ll wait for you to come back, Kris.” The statement made the tall blonde stop in his tracks but he didn’t turn around as confidence made Yixing’s voice stronger. “Two years, three years, or five. I’ll be here. Waiting.

“I think I’m in love with you, Kris.”

Kris stared up at the blue sky through the glass ceiling, willing the prickling in his eyes to go away as he blinked repeatedly. He wanted to hate Yixing for swaying him so easily with just a couple of well-placed words, but instead, he turned around, took two long paces until he was inches from Yixing. Abandoning his carry-on, Kris cupped his hands at the base of Yixing’s neck, guiding Yixing’s face upwards as he leaned down to plant his lips firmly over Yixing’s. Thumb tracing along Yixing’s jaw, Kris let himself get lost in Yixing’s warmth once more, reluctantly pulling away for air and resting his forehead on the younger’s.

“Stay, Kris,” Yixing whispered in a plea as his arms wrapped around the Kris’ waist, “Don’t go to France.”

Kris sighed and closed his eyes, savouring the way Yixing’s warmth wrapped around him like a blanket, “I can’t Yixing. I promised to go already.”

“Then quit,” Yixing pouted, pulling closer into the taller male’s chest.

Kris laughed softly, “I’m not quitting, Yixing. I love my job.” He paused before pulling his head away, reluctant to shatter the illusion of heaven on earth even as he removed Yixing’s arms from around his body, a voice arguing vehemently in his head as he did so. “And _we_ need this, Yixing.”

“What?”

“Everything we’ve been through. Maybe this time away from each other will be good for us.”

“What?” Yixing repeated a second time like a broken record.

Kris hesitated before choosing his next words. “I don’t want to be a rebound for Lu Han.”

Yixing’s fingers slipped out of Kris’ hands lifelessly as his head dropped to stare at his feet. “You’re not,” he denied in a broken voice that made Kris was to rip up his plane ticket.

With a pained smile, Kris lifted Yixing’s chin until he could kiss the latter’s forehead lightly. “I have a plane to catch,” he whispered before grabbing the handle of his carry-on and lining up to get through security.

As Kris took off his jacket and grabbed a tray to place his belongings in, his phone beeped with a new text message.

_Have a safe trip, Kris.  
By the way, I’m keeping the key to your loft. I know it’s the only key you have because you told me you lost your spare two months ago. This way, when you finally come home, you’ll HAVE to come see me to get it back._

Kris couldn’t help but smile as he tossed the phone into the plastic tray next to his jacket and belt before stepping through the metal detector.

_P.S. Don’t you dare give away your heart to some smooth talking French guy while you’re over there; it belongs to me._


	4. Yixing's POV [Chapter 2.5]

“Kiss me, Yixing.”  
  
“What?” Yixing pulls himself into a seated position, cocking his head to the side as he looks down at Kris staring up at him with fingers fisting tightly into the sheets around him and teeth cutting into his bottom lip. A smile tugs itself onto Yixing’s face as he wipes something wet across his dry lips, enjoying the way Kris seems to struggle against some internal turmoil, “And ruin what we’ve got going on?” he asks teasingly as he removes one hand from around Kris’ hips to replace pressure where his mouth was a second ago, leaning over and brushing butterfly kisses across Kris’ collarbone, smiling into the heated skin when he feels Kris shiver underneath him.  
  
“You’re right,” Kris breathes out and Yixing hums in acknowledgement against Kris’ chest as he makes his way back down again. “Slipped out was all.”  
  
Yixing smirks to himself as he swirls his tongue lightly at Kris’ navel before working further south, “Good.”  
  
*  
  
“My god, you’re amazing.”  
  
Yixing rolls off onto his side of the bed, eyes still closed in ecstasy as he laughs at Kris’ well-placed compliment, “I know.” Taking deep breaths, Yixing feels the corners of his mouth quirk upwards in satisfaction when the male beside him calls him arrogant for agreeing so readily.  
  
Images of his unfinished magazine start flying through his head, a To-Do list forming as his breathing slows to a more regular rate. He imagines Baekhyun flipping through pages by himself at the office while Yixing is enjoying himself with Kris and feels a small stab of guilt; he’s supposed to be taking time away from the office only to pick Lu Han up from the airport, not to come to Kris’ apartment.  
  
“I have to go,” Yixing announces as he pulls himself into an upright position and, as an afterthought, leans back down to kiss Kris’ cheek lightly before climbing to his feet, eyes scanning the room for his displaced clothes. “Final copy has to go to print in two days and I’m still missing a couple of pages,” he explains distractedly as he finally locates his shirt. Pulling it over his head with his back to Kris, he catches sight of the clock hanging on the wall opposite the bed; an hour until Lu Han’s flight is supposed to pull in. An involuntary smile graces his lips as he thinks about his high school senior, wondering if he will still recognize Lu Han after so many years apart. “And an old friend is coming to town so I have to go pick him up,” Yixing continues to explain absentmindedly, trying to figure out if the jeans he has just picked up belong to him or to Kris. He declines the offer of a lift from Kris as he pulls up the zipper and buttons up his pants before heading to the door, picking up his phone to send a text to his assistant to send over a company car, ignoring the return text he receives from Baekhyun that asks why Yixing needs the car to go to Kris’ apartment when Yixing said he was going to the airport.  
  
“Did you want dinner first?” Kris asks from behind him, making Yixing turn around as he pockets his phone and wraps his wrist with his watch.  
  
Yixing swallows at the delicious way Kris is leaning on one elbow, staring at him in lazy contemplation, lips still red and slightly swollen. Dinner with Kris might not be the worst idea, but the quiet ticking of the clock on the wall reminds him that he really should be leaving. Instead, Yixing smiles, rolling his mother’s bracelets back onto his free wrist as he strides over to Kris with the intent to quickly kiss him goodbye. Reminded at the last second of his own persistence for an uncomplicated relationship, Yixing opts instead to put two fingers on his lips before placing them lightly on Kris’. “Good night, Kris,” he hears himself say more softly than he had anticipated and he clears his throat before calling out behind him once he’s rounded the bedroom door, “I’ll let myself out!”  
  
…  
  
After checking the time for probably the hundredth time, Yixing continues to poke at his tablet, trying to make sense of the files that Baekhyun sent him half an hour ago.  
  
Lu Han texted him twenty minutes ago that his flight landed safely and that he was just waiting to get off and pick up his luggage. Yixing doesn’t know if he is being nervous because he should be at the office right now, or because he is about to see Lu Han after nearly a decade of separation. Yixing feels his face flush red as he remembers the crush he had on the older boy in high school, but had been too afraid of ruining their friendship to do anything about it. Ducking his head to hide the ridiculous grin that has formed widely on his face from the numerous others waiting for arriving friends or family, Yixing packs away his tablet, resigning to the fact that he won’t get anything done anyway.  
  
“Yixing?”  
  
Yixing looks up sharply at his name to find friendly eyes staring back at him under caramel hair with a familiar smile. “Zhang Yixing?”  
  
The Lu Han Yixing remembers from high school had black hair that was styled into the most ridiculous up-dos. He looks different now, that’s for sure, but he looks the same, and all the feelings Yixing had as a teenager comes rushing back to him. Yixing is so busy trying to tame the butterflies in his stomach that he almost forgets that Lu Han has asked him a question, managing to untangle his tongue just long enough to reply in short syllables, “Ah, uhm. Yes.”  
  
The smile on the young face widens as he pulls Yixing into a hug, “I haven’t seen you in so long, Yixing! You look so good!”  
  
Yixing’s chest warms with the familiarity as he returns the affection. “Yeah, you too!” he says when they pull apart, bending down to pick up one of Lu Han’s bags. “You look exactly the same as you did in high school, like you didn’t age at all.”  
  
Lu Han laughs, “And you. Well, the years have clearly been good to you,” he says as he links an arm into Yixing’s as they walk towards the exit. “So what hotels are good around here?”  
  
Yixing raises an eyebrow, “Hotel? You’re staying at a hotel?”  
  
Lu Han shrugs, “Of course. Where else would I stay? My parents don’t live here anymore and I don’t see you offering,” Lu Han explains, pinching playfully at Yixing’s nose with his free hand.  
  
“Okay, well I’m offering, then,” Yixing sputters out before he can catch himself, ducking his head in an effort to hide the flush in his cheeks that had blossomed immediately after the words had fallen out, “I mean, uhm, well, hotels are expensive and I have a spare room anyway.”  
  
“You’re the best!” Lu Han exclaims after a brief pause as he removes his arm from Yixing’s only to wrap it around the latter’s neck to pull him close enough to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I knew we were friends for a reason,” he laughs, a giant smile forcing creases at the edges of his eyes.  
  
Yixing feigns a scowl when he wipes his cheek with the back of his hand as they wait for his car to arrive, “Don’t you have a boyfriend, Lu Han?”  
  
Lu Han laughs cutely, “Doesn’t stop you from wanting to kiss me right now though, does it?”  
  
Yixing’s head snaps around quickly to face Lu Han as his feet stop moving and Lu Han’s arm falls from around him. “What? I don’t-,” he sputters defensively.  
  
Lu Han doesn’t seem to hear him when he stops walking too, head cocked to the side as he studies Yixing for a moment before looking down. “Still wearing them, eh?” Lu Han starts, reaching out to grab Yixing’s wrist lightly with one hand while the other starts playing at the rubber bands, fingers ghosting delicately across the sensitive skin and sending involuntary shivers down Yixing’s spine, “One, two, three, four, five, six…? Did you lose one, Zhang Yixing?” Lu Han continues to scold good-naturedly, either unaware of his effect on Yixing or plainly ignoring it, “Maybe I should keep them safe for you.”  
  
Yixing’s ears start to burn as Lu Han continues to brush his fingers gracefully over his wrist. Before Yixing can pull his arm back in embarrassment, Lu Han has slipped one of the bracelets off, spinning it around his finger as he stares back at Yixing with playful eyes and a childish smile.  
  
“What are you doing, Lu Han?” Yixing asks, tone serious as he reaches for his property; Lu Han pulls it away tauntingly at the last second. “You know that these are important to me.”  
  
“Kiss me and I’ll give it back,” Lu Han says casually, staring absently at the circles that the band makes around his finger as it spins.  
  
The request takes Yixing by surprise and gives way to another million butterflies in his stomach. “Excuse me?”  
  
As a response, Lu Han only smiles before he turns away and gestures towards something on the street behind Yixing. “Isn’t that your driver waving at us right now?” Lu Han asks naturally, as if his previous comment hadn’t happened at all.  
  
Yixing spins around and sure enough, the company car is a couple feet away from where they are standing, its driving leaning out of the window and waving his arm to get the editor’s attention. When Yixing turns around again to help with Lu Han’s bags, he finds that the older male has slipped the black band around his own wrist, sitting comfortably there atop Lu Han’s own leather bracelet.  
  
“Well? Are we just going to keep standing here, or…?” Lu Han asks as he rolls his luggage behind him, eyes twinkling as he starts walking away without Yixing, who has to blink a couple of times before he gets his legs to move again. He helps his chauffeur pile the pieces into the trunk and climbs into the back seat after Lu Han, telling his driver to drop them off at his apartment.  
  
As Yixing watches Lu Han stare out the window with appreciative eyes, Yixing thinks to himself that there’s another thing that seems to have stayed precisely the same about Lu Han besides his looks; he’s still as playful as ever and knows exactly what to do to get what he wants.  
  
The proof is in the way Yixing is still as helpless against Lu Han’s charm as he was as a teenager in high school, staring after his popular and unattainable senior with nervous butterflies in his stomach.  
  
…  
  
“Xing!” Yixing can hear Lu Han swing the front door open and run through the living room even from his spot on his bed where he’s reading a book. “Xingie! Guess what?!” Lu Han asks exuberantly as he pushes Yixing’s door open all the way and jumps onto the bed next to him. Before Yixing can open his mouth to offer an answer, Lu Han is speaking again in his excited tone, “I get to stay for longer than just this week!”  
  
Yixing raises an eyebrow as he bookmarks his spot just as Lu Han rips the entire novel out of his hand to get his attention. Yixing scowls a little at the action, grabbing his book back to replace onto his bedside table before giving his focus to Lu Han. “Really? Why?”  
  
“I’m going to be working with this fashion magazine called Style! I think it’s in the same building as your magazine!”  
  
Yixing’s heart nearly stops at the mention of Style; should he tell Lu Han that he knows its creative director? No, maybe not. What would be the point anyway? It’s not like he and Kris have been seeing each other much lately anyway. His eyes fall immediately to the loose stitching at the bottom of his shirt, ravelling the string around his finger.  
  
Yixing’s inner debate on whether to tell Lu Han about Kris is interrupted when he feels a warmth enveloping his mouth. His eyes widen as far as they can and Yixing finds that Lu Han is… kissing him?  
  
“What was that for?” Yixing asks when Lu Han promptly pulls away.  
  
Lu Han pouts as he pulls back and crosses his legs under him, now seated on Yixing’s lower body. “Well, I just told you good news, and then you started to space out so I kissed you to get your attention,” he explains easily, pausing to let give Yixing the chance to appreciate the words. “So?”  
  
Yixing stares at Lu Han another second before he replies. “Oh, er, yeah, that’s great news,” he mutters, mind grasping at straws as he tries to focus on what Lu Han felt like. Lu Han seems to be able to read minds because he smiles before leaning close once more, locking lips with Yixing again, and this time, it’s not a simple peck. Yixing welcomes the warm pressure and brings his hands up to Lu Han’s chin to pull him closer before he realises what he’s doing. Pulse racing, Yixing pushes Lu Han away, dropping his head to stare at his sheets when he feels a rush of embarrassing warmth burning his cheeks. His head starts to hurt as he tries to come up with an escape or an excuse, but then his eyes fall upon Lu Han’s wrist. “Give me my bracelet back. My mom’s going to kill me if she thinks I lost another one.”  
  
Lu Han sticks out his tongue as he quickly pulls his wrist out of Yixing’s reach, “That so does not count. So I think I’m going to keep it.” Yixing scowls at the way Lu Han taunts him before he shuffles around and decides to settle beside Yixing, nudging him to make room. “Besides, your mom likes me, right?”  
  
Yixing punches Lu Han in the arm, “She’d probably like you less if she knew you just stuck your tongue down her precious son’s throat.”  
  
Lu Han snorts in response, “What, are you saying you didn’t like it? Because that,” Lu Han pauses in midsentence to turn Yixing’s head towards him to place another light kiss on his lips, making something flutter in Yixing’s chest again, “Would be a lie.”  
  
Of all things to be thinking about right now, Yixing finds his mind drifting to Kris again. Should he call the ex-model to congratulate him on signing Lu Han to his magazine? Wouldn’t that give away the fact that Yixing knew Lu Han? But why should that matter, anyway? Why is he hesitant to tell Kris about Lu Han? Yixing hardly has the opportunity to continue the pointless conversation in his head because Lu Han has started to run his experienced hands steadily over Yixing’s body, making him forget about anything that isn’t Lu Han.  
  
Later that night when Lu Han gasps sharply as he pushes into Yixing, Yixing pretends not to notice the way the older bites his lip in an effort to stifle the name that isn’t ‘Yixing’.  
  
…  
  
Yixing is bent over his desk trying to make sense of something a junior editor has submitted for the next issue when Kris knocks on his office door. Startled by the interruption, Yixing jumps in his seat before greeting Kris properly, capping his pen while Kris makes himself comfortable in the chair across from Yixing, saying something Yixing doesn’t catch before his phone beeps with an incoming text from Lu Han: Got an hour, want to grab something to eat? My treat.  
  
Yeah, that sounds great! He sends back with a smile; it was nice to have someone spoil him, even if he knew that it hardly meant much to Lu Han. But at least with Lu Han, Yixing felt wanted, something he hasn’t felt in a while, especially not with Kris who would probably drop Yixing in a heartbeat when he found someone more interesting.  
  
“So?”  
  
Yixing is vaguely aware that Kris has asked a question, but he doesn’t bother asking for clarification as he gets caught up in his own thoughts. “Uhm, we should probably talk, since you’re already here,” Yixing starts nervously, spinning his cell phone on the tabletop and not looking up from his desk. He needs to end things with Kris before he feels the sting of being abandoned for someone better, just like his last boyfriend had done.  
  
“Oh no, are you dumping me?” Kris asks in an obviously joking tone that makes Yixing want to laugh; the two are hardly in enough of a relationship to have term that applicable to them, but he uses the light tone to his advantage anyway.  
  
“Actually, yeah,” Yixing mutters, finally looking up to face Kris with a half-smile. He feels like he should append an apology too, but for what he could be apologizing for, he has no idea; it’s not as if Kris will mind, Yixing knows. He stares at Kris for a moment before the latter raises an eyebrow.  
  
“… Really?”  
  
Yixing shrugs and lowers his head again, idly drawing circles on the blackened screen of his phone with his finger, “Well, we weren’t ever technically together, so no, not really. But yeah.” When Kris doesn’t offer up a response, Yixing finds himself continuing the ramble, “You know that friend I told you about? The one I had to pick up at the airport that other time? Well, uh, we’re kind of together now,” he ends up explaining, wondering if he should keep going and tell Kris that it’s Lu Han he’s talking about.  
  
Yixing watches as something flits across Kris’ face before he opens his mouth to reply, “Wow, really? That was quick. Wasn’t that just like two weeks ago?” Yixing swallows at the tone of Kris’ voice, trying to place the emotion in it that’s making Yixing feel guilty, but before he can come to any conclusion, Kris is speaking again, this time with familiar friendliness and Yixing forgets what he was worried about a second ago. “I mean, that’s great. It wasn’t like we were anything exclusive anyway, right?”  
  
Yixing breathes a quiet sigh of relief and wonders why he was nervous about telling Kris in the first place; Kris of all people should understand that partners aren’t forever and people move on. “That’s exactly it! I probably should have told you earlier, but… well… I just never found the opportunity.” Lies, Yixing thinks to himself, because Lu Han first kissed him over a week ago but he comforts himself by thinking that he just hasn’t seen Kris since then.  
  
Yixing looks up past Kris to see the elevator open, letting out its sole occupant, the subject of conversation between Kris and himself. Yixing really should have just told Lu Han to meet him downstairs in the lobby, but his stupidity has resulted in an increased pulse at the thought of having two parts of his life he had intended to keep separate come together in his office. Think fast, Yixing. Right, just pretend you had no idea Kris and Lu Han even knew each other. “He’s actually dropping by to get dinner right now. You can meet him!” Yixing announces quickly just as he catches Lu Han smiling at him just a few feet away.  
  
“You ready to go, Xing-ie?” Lu Han asks as he approaches the office, arm resting on the door frame before he recognizes Yixing’s guest, “Oh, hey, Kris.” Yixing swallows hard and deliberately looks away when a confused Lu Han tries to meet his eye. “You know Yixing?”  
  
As Yixing lets Kris explain the joint issue from a month ago, he continues to avoid Lu Han’s eyes that seem to be burning holes into his chest. What should he do to stop Lu Han from asking uncomfortable questions while Kris is still here? After another pointed look from Lu Han, Yixing quickly gets up from his seat to meet the designer, clumsily brushing his lips against Lu Han’s to keep the latter from verbalizing any questions. He probably spends half a second worrying about what Kris might be thinking as he swiftly leaves the room and jogs towards the elevator doors before Lu Han pulls away from Yixing’s hold with a raised eye brow as he takes a seat in a chair, spinning around with his arms across his chest as he looks up with expectant eyes, “So, you two knew each other? Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
Yixing shrugs uncomfortably, suddenly feeling like he’s being interrogated for a crime he didn’t even know he’d committed, “I didn’t think that it’d be a problem. I mean, you have what’s-his-face back home anyway, right?”  
  
Lu Han’s eyebrows momentarily stitch together in irritation, “His name is Minseok, Yixing, not ‘whats-his-face’,” he corrects quickly before narrowing his eyes at Yixing. “And does that mean you two slept together? You and Kris?”  
  
The annoyed bite in Lu Han’s words makes Yixing shift on his feet, “Y-yeah.”  
  
Lu Han stares up at Yixing with a hard look for what Yixing feels is at least a full five minutes before the brunette blinks and turns around towards the desk with a shrug, chin in one hand while the other traces over one of Yixing’s doodles. “What do you want for dinner?” he asks in a carefree tone.  
  
The sudden change in attitude confuses Yixing and he ends up hurrying around to his side of the table so he can face Lu Han before words are falling through his teeth before he can think them “What, it doesn’t bother you that I slept with Kris?” he asks, voice a little too whiney for his own liking.  
  
Lu Han stops tracing pen marks with his finger and looks up at Yixing in contemplation before he stands up too. “You’re not sleeping with him anymore, right?” he asks, but doesn’t give Yixing enough time to respond before he’s reaching over the desk to grab Yixing’s shirt to tug him in to kiss. A part of Yixing wants to say ‘Yes’ just to see what Lu Han’s reaction would be, but, eager to please, the word ‘No’ tumbles from his lips instead, earning him another sweet kiss from Lu Han. “Then I don’t care,” the designer laughs, letting Yixing go as he tucks the chair he was sitting in back into place. “Now come on, let’s go grab some food before I starve to death.”  
  
…  
  
Yixing curls up against Lu Han on the couch in the living room as the two watch a skinny rat control the actions of a human in Ratatouille by pulling on his hair, the older idly curling his fingers in the younger’s hair (five minutes earlier, Lu Han had jokingly tried to see if Yixing would react the same way as the human character on the screen).  
  
“You know, I think Kris likes you,” Lu Han suddenly remarks when the main character accidentally squeezes a tomato at Remy, exactly the same moment that Yixing has decided to take a drink from his bottled milk tea, choking on it in alarm. A dribble of the tan beverage makes its way down to his chest where Lu Han quickly reaches for a tissue and wipes it off before it could ruin Yixing’s shirt.  
  
“What?” Yixing manages to reply, sitting up straight as he reaches for another napkin to clean the stream that has spilled over the bottle onto his fingers in his coughing fit.  
  
“Today,” Lu Han starts, using a finger to remove a droplet that Yixing missed on his cheek, “When we were going over my designs today, Kris totally flipped out at me for no good reason except that he’s been acting funny ever since he found out about you and me.” Yixing rolls his eyes dramatically, swallowing as he turns back towards the television again, contemplating how to convince Lu Han that what he’s saying is highly unlikely.  
  
“You like him too, don’t you?” Lu Han continues, fingers still playing with Yixing’s hair.  
  
Yixing continues to stare blindly at the animations playing on the screen, trying to decide what Lu Han means. Like? Sure, Kris is a decent person; what’s there not to like? Somehow though, Yixing doubts that this is what Lu Han means. Yixing doesn’t bother trying to give Lu Han a reply, because frankly, he has no idea if he likes Kris more than just as a person.  
  
Yixing feels a hand wrapping itself around his wrist and by the time he reflexively looks down at it, Lu Han has pulled Yixing into him, harshly turning Yixing’s face towards him and kissing him roughly, “Too bad for him that you’re with me, then,” he says simply before letting go and getting up to head towards the door. “I’ve got a party tonight so I won’t be home ‘til late, may not even be back until tomorrow morning, but don’t miss me too much, okay?” Lu Han picks up his phone from the kitchen table and waves it at Yixing, “Call me if you need anything?”  
  
Yixing rolls his eyes again to cover up the flush he can feel creeping onto his face. When Lu Han smirks briefly before he disappears, Yixing wonders if Lu Han is trying to make a point with the rough kiss.  
  
*  
  
“Yixing! Open up!”  
  
Yixing’s eyes snap open to find the movie playing its closing credits; he must have dozed off somewhere between Igor making his announcement to critique the restaurant and the human finding that his rodent friend has betrayed his trust. Yawning, he pushes the ball of his left palm into his eye in an attempt to help himself wake up properly while hitting the power button on the remote with his other hand. He hollers a quick “Coming!” before getting up and heading to the door where someone is pounding on it incessantly. The door is hardly been opened a crack when Kris’ tall frame pushes into his apartment, making him fall back a couple steps to keep from being mowed over. “Jesus, Kris, where’s the fire?”  
  
Of all the possible explanations Yixing expects Kris to offer, he doesn’t expect the kiss that Kris presses into him, tasting of beer and laced with an urgency Yixing doesn’t know how to respond to. The alarming way that Kris is forcing inside his mouth makes Yixing instinctively try to pull away, fingers balling into fists as he tries to push at Kris’ shoulders. But Kris is alarmingly strong, and his firm hand on the back of Yixing’s head holds the younger in place. When no amount of punching and kicking can get Kris off of him, Yixing stops moving altogether, crossing his arms and waiting for Kris to wake up from whatever drunken state he’s in.  
  
“I’m s-sorry,” is the only whisper that comes from Kris when he finally pulls away, and Yixing wants to slap the taller male for his rough handling, but his hand stills at the sight of the self-hating look of guilt on Kris’ face.  
  
“What the hell was that?!” Yixing spits out, bringing his hand up instead to wipe the back of it across his lips with a clenched jaw.  
  
“Lu Han’s got a boyfriend,” Kris mutters flatly, face contorting awkwardly.  
  
“And that’s supposed to explain why you’ve charged into my home?” Yixing returns immediately, annoyed with the way Kris is looking at him with pity; he doesn’t need it and he certainly doesn’t want it coming from Kris.  
  
“You… you knew?” Kris asks, eyes widening with surprise that only further annoys Yixing: what’s it matter to Kris what Yixing does or doesn’t know?  
  
“He and Minseok have been an item back in Seoul for five years,” Yixing explains distractedly; Yixing’s head hesitantly makes the connection that this is Kris’ excuse to kiss Yixing for the first time since they met but the nonsense of it is throwing his head into unsettling disarray.  
  
“Then… why are you…?” Kris stutters out, giving Yixing enough time to dismiss his thoughts; there’s some other reason Kris is here, there has to be, because the alternative is just too ridiculous.  
  
“Are you stuck in the past, Kris?” Yixing asks mockingly as he rolls his eyes, “They’re in an open relationship.” Lu Han never talks about Minseok except to tell Yixing he has to step aside to take his call, but Yixing thinks it’s safe to assume, given the way Lu Han acts around Yixing, arms slung over shoulders and generous kisses.  
  
“And you’re okay with the fact that he’s going to be leaving in two months?”  
  
“I…” Yixing starts to answer automatically, but he has no idea how to finish. He hasn’t actually given that fact any thought. Okay? Yixing has no idea if he’s okay with Lu Han leaving, and he has no idea why Kris would even care; who is Style’s director to barge into his home in the first place, making references to Yixing’s relationships when he hasn’t even spoken to him ever since Yixing had backed out of their previous arrangement?  
  
‘You know, I think Kris likes you.’  
  
Lu Han’s voice from a couple of hours ago rings in his head and Yixing has to turn away to hide his reaction to the idea; of course that’s not true. It can’t be true, because this is Kris Wu we’re talking about, the never-tethered playboy from the twenty-seventh floor. But Yixing is curious, so he spins around to face Kris again, “What do you care, Kris?” he tests carefully.  
  
“You’re my friend, Yixing, of course I care.” Kris answers and Yixing finds a wave of inexplicable disappointment wash over him. Friends? Yixing wants to laugh at that. More like acquaintances that never even see each other anymore, even though they work in the same building.  
  
“I’m fine Kris, you can go home,” he sighs heavily with disappointment, but he makes no move to kick Kris out of his home because the idea of being left alone in his apartment now is unbearable. He fights the urge to ask Kris to stay though because he can’t, they’re not like that.  
  
Yixing’s internal discussion is interrupted when Kris takes another step forward, a whisper ghosting his lips, “Xingxing…”  
  
Yixing breathes in sharply when he suddenly feels Kris’ lips against his own, sending his mind into disarray with the unexpected gentleness. “No, wait, Kris,” he mutters with a slur, “This is getting too complicated,” he starts, head swimming and something inexplicable stirring in his chest, making him stagger backwards in confusion.  
  
But then Kris is wrapping his strong arms around his waist, resting his forehead on Yixing’s and telling him that this isn’t complicated. And Yixing wants to believe him because he wants this right now, wants Kris to keep kissing him this way, for the tall blond to hold him the way he knows Lu Han never will or even can.  
  
Lu Han.  
  
Forcing his temporary roommate to the back of his mind, he reaches up and pulls Kris closer, finally deepening the kiss and drawing a soft moan from Kris as he tangles his fingers into Kris’ hair. Kris is right, isn’t he? This was exactly what they’d been doing before, right? “Yeah, just like before,” Yixing hums, letting himself – at least for tonight – drown in Kris’ warm mouth and melt into his familiar and comfortable touch.  
  
*  
  
When Yixing next opens his eyes, he’s lying on his side and the digital clock in front of him on the bedside table reads 3:14am. When he registers the arm lying across his waist, he remembers that he’s not alone and curses in his head for his own lack of sensibility. Yixing tries to shift out from under Kris’ right arm, but the older stirs behind him, arm holding faster to Yixing as he pulls the smaller male into his chest, completely unaware of how Yixing’s eyes fly open in surprise.  
  
Fuck, Yixing swears to himself anxiously, pulse high and breathing uneven, how am I going to get out now? Lu Han is going to be furious if he comes home to see this!  
  
It’s then that Yixing realises that save for the nagging worry about Lu Han’s reaction at the back of his mind, he really doesn’t want to get away. He doesn’t want for Kris to remove his arm from around his waist, doesn’t want to pull his back away from the warmth of Kris’ chest that he has never felt from Lu Han before.  
  
Taking care not to wake his partner, Yixing carefully frees his right hand from the tangled sheets, hesitating momentarily before intertwining his fingers in between Kris’ and pulling them into his chest, liking too much the way that Kris’ body naturally tugs Yixing even closer in reflex, liking too much the way Kris’ even breathing tickles the top of his head, and liking too much the way his head rests too comfortably on Kris’ arm.  
  
Liking too much the way that he’s completely surrounded by Kris’ comfortably sweet scent.  
  
*  
  
Yixing ends up staring at the digits on his clock counting towards sunrise, barely catching a single wink of sleep as he nuzzles his face into the welcoming crook of Kris’ elbow, feeling the calmest he’s felt in a long time.  
  
When Kris rouses behind him, Yixing pretends to be still asleep, adding soft snoring sounds for effect; he doesn’t trust himself to face Kris right now because he doesn’t even know how. How does he explain that he wants Kris to skip work with him and maybe go for brunch? That’s exactly the kind of behaviour that had Kris stop seeing Huang Zitao in the first place.  
  
Yixing grinds his teeth together as he keeps a protest from slipping from his lips as Kris pulls himself from Yixing, keeps himself from tightening his grip when Kris carefully loosens his fingers from in between Yixing’s. He doesn’t even pretend to stir when Kris carefully removes the arm that Yixing has been resting on and replaces it with a soft pillow that still smells like Kris. The extra blanket that Kris pulls over Yixing does little to replace the tall male’s warmth and it only makes Yixing want Kris to come back to his side even more.  
  
Yixing’s concentration to keep his fake snoring even as he listens to Kris stepping quietly around the room (likely to collect his clothes) is probably the only thing that keeps his eyes from flying open in surprise when he feels lips brushing softly against his forehead, and a gentle finger tucking a stray strand of hair behind his exposed ear. He waits until the soft click of his bedroom door closing to open his eyes, heart rate at an impossibly high rate as he strains to hear the click that signals Kris’ departure from his apartment.  
  
Yixing finally lets go of the breath that he has been holding ever since Kris closed the bedroom door, rolling onto his back with a hand on his forehead where Kris had kissed him, feeling it burn at the memory. He has to push the blankets off himself because he’s suddenly too warm and he can’t understand it. He stares at the ceiling in confusion until he hears the front door click open again. Startled at the idea that Kris might be back, Yixing draws himself back into his blankets and only manages to close his eyes in time for his bedroom door to creak open once more.  
  
“Yixing?”  
  
It’s not Kris.  
  
It’s Lu Han.  
  
And Yixing doesn’t know why that scares him nor does he understand why Lu Han’s voice feels invasive and unwelcome in every way to the room.  
  
“Yixing, I know you’re up. Stop lying there, pretending to be asleep.”  
  
Yixing contemplates keeping up the façade, but he knows Lu Han’s not stupid and if he keeps it up, Lu Han’s only going to get even more upset with him. He cracks an eye open and rolls around to find Lu Han with crossed arms standing at the door.  
  
“Why did I just see Kris leaving the lobby downstairs?  
  
Yixing swallows a groan as he sits up, bed sheets pooling around his midriff as he holds himself up with one arm. “Because he stayed over?” he answers without thinking and swallows hard when he notices the way Lu Han starts to glare at Yixing dangerously before he takes purposeful steps to the bed and brings Yixing’s chin up towards him as he bends down to slip his tongue into the younger’s mouth.  
  
“You still taste like him,” Lu Han accuses, glare replaced with an annoyed pout that makes Yixing frown.  
  
“How do you know what Kris tastes like?” Yixing shoots back instinctively.  
  
Lu Han smiles mischievously, “I didn’t but now I do. Tastes disgusting though, I might add.” But he bends down to kiss Yixing again, this time more deeply and Yixing lets him, because it’s Lu Han, Lu Han who has always made Yixing feel more important than just a one-night stand. Or Kris’ fuck buddy.  
  
“Thought you said he tastes gross,” Yixing retorts when Lu Han finally lets him go to breathe.  
  
Lu Han smiles against Yixing’s mouth, “He does. That’s why I have to clear it out and make you only remember me,” he says with an empty laugh before leaning into Yixing again, hands on either side of the still naked boy as he leans far enough to make Yixing lean back but not enough to let him lie down. He pushes Yixing to the brink of wanting more and suddenly breaks away to start back out the bedroom door, and Yixing’s pretty sure it’s Lu Han’s way of silently punishing him for sleeping with Kris.  
  
“We’re grabbing lunch later, right?” he calls behind him as he disappears, more as a statement than a question.  
  
Yixing stares after Lu Han and he feels his heart racing faster than usual but he’s not sure why anymore.  
  
*  
  
Yixing doesn’t really know why he suggested Kris join Lu Han and him for lunch. Lu Han is being particularly affectionate as he makes sure to sit next to Yixing instead of across from him as they wait for Kris to arrive. Lu Han has his arm wrapped possessively around Yixing and his hold tightens when Kris finally joins them. It’s obvious that Lu Han doesn’t like Kris, but it’s equally obvious that Kris is trying his best to ignore the PDA.  
  
“Stop it, Lu Han!” Yixing squeaks when Lu Han blows lightly on his neck, making Yixing squirm. “Drink your soup,” he says in an attempt to divert Lu Han’s attention elsewhere, because the way Kris is stabbing at his plate is creating ripples in his chest.  
  
Lu Han pouts and kisses Yixing on the cheek before picking up his spoon with his free hand, “Fine, but only because it’s you who’s asking,” he teases before unhooking his arm from around Yixing’s waist to ghost his fingers up Yixing’s thigh under the table and Yixing knows he has to get away.  
  
He excuses himself to go to the bathroom but only gets to the far wall before he turns around to focus on the couple of males, hand raised to his chest as he catches his breath; why is it getting so hard to breathe? He watches Kris glower at his plate, purposely ignoring Lu Han who’s staring right at Kris, chin in hand as a spoon dangles over his soup from two fingers on his other hand. Yixing can’t hear what the two are saying from this distance, but whatever words are exchanged sends Kris abruptly to his feet, dropping a couple of bills on the table before storming out.  
  
Confused, Yixing makes his way back to the table immediately and asks what Lu Han said to make Kris leave in such a hurry. Lu Han only shrugs as he drops his spoon and crosses his arms on the table, leaning into them in a bored manner, “Nothing, really. Just asked him if he was jealous that you were sitting next to me instead of him.”  
  
Yixing freezes at the unexpected answer as he tries to figure out what Lu Han is trying to get at, what he is trying to accomplish by asking weird questions.  
  
“You two are being ridiculously stupid, you know that, right?” Lu Han chides with a sigh, unfolding one arm from the table to swirl the straw in his ice water, staring blankly into the glass.  
  
Yixing clenches his jaw as he glances between the exit of the restaurant and the seat next to Lu Han, mind a complete mess as he tries to figure out what Lu Han is saying. Is he just testing Yixing? A subtle fear takes hold of his spine and forces him back down into the seat next to Lu Han who only shrugs again as he hooks a chin over Yixing’s shoulder, “Suit yourself then,” he mutters before digging back into his soup.  
  
Lu Han wears the same friendly smile through the rest of the meal but Yixing notices that he isn’t quite as affectionate and he starts to wonder if it wasn’t all just for Kris. And it’s not like Lu Han is cold, per se, because he’s still feeding some of his salmon dish to Yixing with his fork, but it’s not so blatantly obvious and all it does is make Yixing think about Lu Han’s words: Nothing, really. Just asked him if he was jealous that you were sitting next to me instead of him. There’s no way Kris could be jealous, no way in all the circles of hell. He doesn’t give a shit about Yixing, because Yixing is just another one of the exchangeable screwdrivers in his toolbox, his friend, as he had so eloquently put last night.  
  
But by the time lunch is over, the possibility of Kris actually caring about Yixing has permeated to every corner of his mind and it’s all he can think about as he sits in his office restlessly, unable to focus on anything else. When he finally manages to pick his feet up to go to the 27th floor (making sure to avoid crossing paths with Lu Han), he finds out that Kris isn’t even there, and he has to learn from the wide-eyed assistant (who waves Yixing away distractedly while he signs for a package from a courier) that Kris is a couple blocks away, on set at a photoshoot.  
  
When Yixing finally finds his way to the set, a flash of his EXO Publications employee badge gets him inside where he finds the crew sitting around in chairs, chatting casually. The photographer is adjusting set pieces and stylists are making sure the models are looking their best, but he can’t seem to locate the one person he’s looking for.  
  
A stylist pushes past Yixing, muttering to herself with an annoyed tone as she digs through a pile next to him. “Excuse me,” Yixing asks, putting a hand up to rest on her shoulder to get her attention, “Where’s Kris?”  
  
The stylist turns around and snorts derisively. “He and one of the models kicked me out a dressing room. My guess is that they’re fucking.”  
  
The strength in Yixing’s arm is suddenly gone and his hand is falling from her shoulder as she shrugs it off easily to grab a can of hairspray before wandering back to her workstation.  
  
Why does he feel surprised that Kris is already with someone else? He shouldn’t. This is something that Yixing has known since the first time he walked in on Kris with that assistant. Why does it bother him now?  
  
*  
  
When the elevator doors open up on the 27th floor, Yixing steps out frantically, eyes searching until he locates Lu Han talking to one of Style’s employees. When he grabs Lu Han around the wrist, the latter turns around in surprise and before he can say anything Yixing shuts him up with a kiss.  
  
“What was that for?” Lu Han replies with worry creasing into his forehead as he takes Yixing’s hand in his own, excusing himself from the person he’d initially been speaking with.  
  
“I missed you,” Yixing says easily, sighing at the way Lu Han is making comforting circles on the back of his hand with his thumb.  
  
Lu Han raises an eyebrow, “We were just out for lunch.”  
  
Yixing pouts, “That was two hours ago. Let’s go,” he says, and he can hear the embarrassing desperation in his voice as he pulls Lu Han towards the elevator but he doesn’t even care.  
  
“Wait, I’m supposed to be working, Xing!” Lu Han refutes, waving the pages in his other hand in reference.  
  
Yixing grabs the pages out of Lu Han’s hands and slams them on the nearest table. “Your boss is at a photo shoot and I doubt he’s going to notice if you leave a couple hours early.”  
  
Lu Han furrows his eyebrows together as he processes Yixing’s words, “You mean Kris? Kris isn’t my boss. Technically, Junmyeon is.”  
  
Yixing scowls at Lu Han who raises an intrigued eyebrow at his insistence before reaching for his designs again. “Please, Lu Han.”  
  
Lu Han eyes Yixing suspiciously, almost as though actually seeing him for the first time since he appeared at the office, “What happened to you?” Yixing doesn’t answer but it’s enough for Lu Han to tighten his grip on Yixing’s fingers, “You went to find Kris, didn’t you?” he asks in his annoyed tone again and Yixing keeps his smile to himself because the way Lu Han’s grip is cutting off the circulation in his fingers is a welcome relief to the uncomfortable and unwelcome ache in his chest.  
  
…  
  
Yixing clicks his phone screen on for the fifth time in an hour, berating himself immediately after for wondering if he has any missed calls. Who is he hoping will call him on his personal phone? Kris? As if. Kris hasn’t called him in over a week and Yixing should really be glad about that; at least this way, he doesn’t have to pretend to be busy with Lu Han and reject Kris’ invitation to go to his loft. This is for the better, he keeps telling himself. It’s unhealthy to be in this sick one-sided relationship with Kris, and this way, at least he can say that he was the one who ended it.  
  
At least he can save himself the embarrassment of Kris ending things because Yixing wants more than Kris can give him.  
  
“Hey, where are you?”  
  
Yixing’s head snaps up to face his lunch date and he hastily turns his screen off again. He leans his head into one hand and plays with the straw in his drink with the other, trying to look normal, “What? Where am I? I’m here eating lunch with you, Lu Han.”  
  
Lu Han gives him a raised eyebrow and only sighs as he wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Alright, let’s go.”  
  
“Hmm? Already?” Yixing replies with a furrowed brow, “You haven’t even finished your dessert…”  
  
Lu Han only sends Yixing a warning look, “I just want to leave okay? I’ve lost my appetite,” he mutters as he opens his wallet to pull out way more money than the meal would have probably cost and slaps it onto the table before getting to his feet and pulling Yixing’s to his too.  
  
The ride back to EXO Publications is deathly quiet and Yixing swallows nervously at the way Lu Han grips the wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white. He can’t tell what Lu Han is thinking, can’t tell what’s got the older so wired that he yells at drivers when it’s himself that’s driving poorly.  
  
Lu Han pulls into a spot in the parking garage with a screech, cutting the engine and pulling the keys out in a rush before he climbs out and slams his door shut, sending vibrations to the passenger side of the car. Yixing steps out carefully, following several steps behind Lu Han as the pair start towards the elevator.  
  
The ride up to the twelfth floor is silent, with only the opening and closing of the doors to let riders on and off as the only thing that reminds Yixing that he hasn’t gone deaf. The fourth time the doors slide open, they reveal a familiar tall figure talking amicably with Yixing’s assistant.  
  
Kris? What is he doing here?  
  
Yixing has to step back to make sure that this is the right floor, shoulder bumping into Lu Han, who has to hold out his hand to keep the doors from sliding closed.  
  
Why is Kris outside my office?  
  
“Hey, Yixing. This is your stop.”  
  
Lu Han’s voice pulls Yixing from his frozen state and he turns to face the speaker sharply, blinking a couple times in an attempt to clear his head, “Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Just spacing out,” he answers as he steps out of the elevator, turning his back on the scene outside his office. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later then.”  
  
Lu Han raises an eyebrow before his eyes narrow and Yixing knows that the older has seen what Yixing is trying desperately to ignore. Yixing braces himself but all Lu Han does is kiss his teeth and roll his eyes, “I’m late for a meeting,” is all he says before he looks down at his phone dismissively, elevator doors closing with a quiet thud.  
  
As soon as Lu Han disappears behind the sliding doors, Yixing spins around and heads towards his office, aware that the only thing keeping him from running towards the tall male is the constant reminder in the back of his head that tells him he needs to distance himself from Kris. He finds himself stopping inches from Style’s creative director, grinding his teeth together to keep from reaching out when Kris turns around and nearly jumps in alarm. Yixing swallows the nervous lump in his throat and puts on his friendliest smile, “What are you doing down here, Kris?”  
  
“Asking your assistant out on a date,” Kris answers in a bored tone, attention drawn to something outside the window. “Where’s Lu Han?”  
  
He doesn’t seem the least bit bothered as he continues in that casual voice and it ticks Yixing off how Kris can act so nonchalant about everything, how easy it is for the tall bastard to have already found a replacement for Yixing in the last week. Yixing chews on his lip for a moment before telling Kris that Lu Han went upstairs for a meeting, biting back an angry retort about how Kris should know where his subordinates are and instead, getting back to the important matter at hand, “Why would you ask Baekhyun out?”  
  
“Why not?” comes the easy retort, “He’s cute.”  
  
The muscle in Yixing’s jaw clenches and his fingernails cut sharply into his palm. Yes, but Baekhyun is my assistant. You can’t ask out my assistant. Yixing bristles and he both hopes Kris can and can’t see just how annoyed he is with this development, but the bastard doesn’t even grant Yixing the luxury of a parting glance before walking around towards the elevator doors. “I’ll see you later, Xing. I’ve gotta get back upstairs before Lu Han starts getting the idea to say that I’m the one who’s late.”  
  
Yixing can only stare after Kris as a choked whisper slips out, “But… he’s my assistant, Kris…”  
  
…  
  
Yixing has no idea what he’s doing outside Kris’ door, wringing his hands and pacing in the dimly lit hallway, waiting for the owner to come home. There must be something wrong with his watch, because it can’t possibly have only been five minutes since the last time he checked his wrist. But then that must also mean there’s something wrong with his phone too. Yixing chews on the nail of his thumb nervously, wondering what he’s doing outside Kris’ apartment; he could just ask Baekhyun tomorrow morning how the date went.  
  
“‘Hey Baek, how was your night last night? Oh yeah, you went on a date with that Kris from upstairs, right? How was it?’ Oh, and then what, Yixing? Ask if they fucked?” Yixing finds himself talking out loud to himself and he groans at himself, crouching down and digging his fingernails into his scalp in frustration. Why the hell is Kris taking so long to come home?  
  
For a moment, a ray of logic invades his anxiety and Yixing is horrified at his choice, because what if Kris brings Baekhyun back to his apartment? How is he going to explain his presence? He really should have thought this out more carefully. But Yixing thanks his luck that when he stands up and starts to pace once more, Kris is coming towards him and he’s alone. His watch says it’s still not even 10pm and Yixing lets himself get comforted by the idea that the only reason Kris could be home this early, alone, is because it had been a terrible date.  
  
But Kris hasn’t looked at him once since he saw Yixing standing outside his door, lowering his head instead and avoiding acknowledgement of Yixing’s presence completely; the silence makes Yixing want to scream. He wants to ask a million-and-one things as he follows Kris into his apartment quietly, watching as the older casually throws his jacket on his couch. Why won’t Kris look at him?! And he wants to ask that, but instead, Yixing settles for a “Weren’t you on a date with Baekhyun?” bit through his teeth.  
  
“Yeah, I was. Just got back.”  
  
Why is he being so unconcerned about this whole thing? He’s not. You’re the one getting worked up over something you already knew about that playboy, screams the voice in his head that he smothers with a hard swallow. Yixing takes an exaggerated scan around the apartment and doesn’t expect the mocking tone in his voice when he opens his mouth again, “Well, couldn’t have been a very good date if you didn’t bring him home.”  
  
Agree with me, Yixing thinks to himself, but Kris doesn’t. He doesn’t even blink when he shrugs, “That doesn’t mean we weren’t at his place before I came home.”  
  
The way Kris smiles at Yixing makes the latter want to throw up. No, it’s not true, of course. It can’t be. Baekhyun isn’t that kind of person.  
  
“Or maybe there’s the possibility that I’m not just looking to get into his pants. Maybe I’m looking for a real relationship.”  
  
The fact that Kris so casually says that he is thinking of getting serious with Baekhyun annoys Yixing. Why is Kris always so calm about playing with people, because that has to be what he’s doing with Baekhyun. There’s no other option. How is Yixing supposed to comfort Baekhyun when Kris ditches him? But what is Yixing supposed to say? Nothing he says or does ever seems to get to Kris.  
  
Lu Han. Use Lu Han, the voice whispers to him. “Don’t use my assistant to get back at me for being with Lu Han, Kris. Baekyun’s innocent.” The words are out of Yixing’s mouth before he’s even had a chance to think about them. What is he saying? Kris doesn’t care if Yixing’s with Lu Han, and it’s certainly got nothing to do with Kris asking Baekhyun out.  
  
But it seems to get Kris’ attention anyway because he’s stepping towards Yixing menacingly, eyes dangerous. Why is it always Lu Han that can get a reaction out of Kris? It was because of Lu Han that Kris appeared outside Yixing’s apartment in a drunken state. It was Lu Han who got Kris annoyed enough to ditch lunch, and it’s Lu Han now that’s put that dangerous glint in Kris’ eyes.  
  
“Are you jealous that I’m involved with guys that aren’t you?”  
  
Jealous? No, Yixing isn’t jealous. Jealous of what? Of Baekhyun? And then Yixing realises with a sick feeling that that’s exactly what he is, jealous. And what’s worse is that Kris seems to know this, the way he’s smirking, and Yixing suddenly wants to be anywhere but here in Kris’ home where its owner’s scent is starting to suffocate Yixing.  
  
“You and I were never exclusive, remember?” Kris continues, eyes narrowing as the corners of his mouth pull up even further.  
  
Yixing wants to run away, but for some reason, his feet are glued to the ground.  
  
“You’ve always known I’ve been with guys other than you, remember, Yixing?”  
  
No. Stop it. Stop saying that.  
  
“That was part of the deal between you and me.”  
  
Yixing feels so stupid standing in Kris’ apartment because Kris is right. What was he thinking? He was the one who agreed to this in the first place. What is he doing coming here, assuming that Kris staying over at his place that one night meant anything? He should go now.  
  
But Kris isn’t done, and his last words cut into him more painfully than a dull knife, “You have Lu Han and now I have Baekhyun. I think it’s fair, don’t you?”  
  
‘Fair? How on earth is this fair?’ Yixing wants to shout back at Kris, because Beakhyun is a great person, and Lu Han… but the words get stuck in his throat and all he can do is finally get his feet moving to leave the apartment in a hurry, slamming the door closed behind him.  
  
He stares at his shoes a moment before he sinks to the ground, back against the closed door and head between his bent knees as he lets himself cry.  
  
…  
  
Yixing feels numb by the time he makes it home, sitting down with his back perfectly erect as he stares blindly into the blank TV screen. He remembers Lu Han saying something about going out tonight and when the older comes home, Yixing hardly notices before he hears something hit something else, making him snap his head around; Lu Han has thrown their mail on their counter. When Yixing finds Lu Han’s eyes, he recognizes the hard look home there.  
  
“Stop thinking about him. I don’t like it when you think about him.”  
  
Yixing knows exactly what Lu Han is talking about but he pretends not to, because he knows that’ll anger Lu Han. “Who?” he asks back, not bothering to wonder why he’s grinning because Lu Han’s threatening voice is anything but funny.  
  
Lu Han starts taking dangerous steps towards Yixing, “Don’t play stupid, Yixing.”  
  
Yixing controls the upward quirk of his lips, “Kris?” he starts, but before the entire name is out, Lu Han has pushed him back wards into the seat, lips cutting him off as he straddles the younger, hands pinning Yixing’s down as he slips his tongue between Yixing’s dry lips.  
  
“Fuck Kris, he only ever hurts you. You’re mine, Zhang Yixing, I would never hurt you like he does,” Lu Han growls, breath hot on the younger’s neck, before he captures Yixing’s mouth in his own again.  
  
Yixing lets Lu Han bite his bottom lip until it bleeds and when Lu Han finally releases Yixing’s arms so he can pull his shirt off, Yixing runs his fingers over Lu Han’s torso, making a decision as he licks his lips. He reaches up to grab Lu Han around the neck and spins them until their positions are reversed, Lu Han’s back against the seat of the couch with Yixing hovering over him, fringe hanging down in front of him.  
  
“Yours,” Yixing mutters before he presses his lips to Lu Han’s neck as the designer laughs under him.  
  



	5. Yixing's POV [Chapter 3.5]

“Hey, Lu Han?”  
  
Lu Han sticks his head out from behind the bathroom door frame, toothbrush still hanging from his mouth as he hums through the foaming toothpaste to let Yixing know he’s listening. “Wanna go grab lunch today?” Yixing continues from the bed, grabbing a pillow from behind him to hug.  
  
Lu Han holds up a finger to tell Yixing to wait a second as he disappears behind the frame once more to spit out his toothpaste. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come pick you up at your office later?”  
  
Yixing hugs the pillow a little tighter to himself. “Actually, why don’t I come upstairs?” he asks, careful not to meet Lu Han’s eye when the latter sticks his head back out again. It’s been a week since he was at Kris’ apartment to ask about his date and Yixing just wants to see the creative director again, even if he’s already made a commitment to himself to not talk to the tall blond again.  
  
Lu Han’s eyebrows furrow together slightly before he grabs a towel to wipe his mouth, tossing it on the counter as he steps back into the bedroom. “Why?”  
  
Yixing tries his best to look nonchalant as he shrugs, “Well, I just feel like you’re always the one coming down to get me, so I thought it might be nice for me to come up to you for once.”  
  
Lu Han pauses momentarily before he climbs onto the bed next to Yixing, removing the latter’s hand from around the pillow to trace circles on the inside of his wrist, “Naw, it’s okay. You’re on the way down to the lobby any way. Wouldn’t make sense for you to come up and then go down again.”  
  
Yixing shrugs again, “I just wanna see where you work,” he continues to explain, hoping his attitude is casual enough for Lu Han not to ask questions.  
  
“Where I work?” Lu Han asks, eyes hardening with accusation as his grip around Yixing’s wrist tightens. “Or where Kris works?”  
  
Yixing’s mind races to come up with a believably offended reaction and swallows uncomfortably as he tries to pull his hand back, but Lu Han holds fast. “You’re hurting me, Lu Han,” he whines, hoping that it’s enough to distract the older.  
  
It isn’t. And it only makes Lu Han’s knuckles turn white with exertion as his other hand reaches up to bring Yixing’s chin forward. “You’re mine, remember? Forget about Kris.”  
  
Yixing only swallows hard again with a nod, trying not to squirm from the pressure on his wrist before Lu Han finally smiles and lets go, bringing it up for a cool kiss before he gets up from the bed and throws open the closet doors and starts flipping through his shirts. “I’ll come get you ‘round noon, then?”  
  
Yixing bites his bottom lip as he massages his reddened wrist, “Yeah, okay,” he answers robotically before getting up and grabbing a shirt off its hanger for himself.  
  
*  
  
By the time lunch rolls around, Yixing can’t remember why he wanted to see Kris in the first place. How could he forget that the ex-model is now in a relationship with Yixing’s assistant? His assistant that gets the luxury of having his boyfriend drop in just to say ‘hello’? Already thrice today he’s had to hold himself back from asking Baekhyun about Kris by diving into the growing pile of paperwork on his desk.  
  
“Hey, you ready to go?”  
  
Yixing nearly jumps out of his seat in surprise at the voice, having not noticed the knock on his door. He scrambles a moment to catch the pens rolling from the holder he’d knocked over in alarm, looking up to find Lu Han standing in his doorway. “Ah! Yeah, just give me a minute, will you?” he acknowledges as he steps out from behind his desk and grabs his jacket. It’s only when he’s pulled it on halfway that he looks out his office door to find Kris seated on Baekhyun’s desk, lips curved up in a laugh before he bends over to kiss the younger.  
  
Maybe he’ll come in to say hi, Yixing finds himself thinking before he can stop it and he has to clench his jaw as a reminder that there hasn’t been a single time Kris has come down to see Baekhyun that he’s come to say a simple hello to Yixing as well. He finally lets out a sigh and finishes pulling his jacket on, hardly registering that Lu Han is closing his office door and locking it.  
  
“Aren’t I enough?”  
  
Yixing pauses in the middle of straightening his collar and gives Lu Han a confused look, “What?”  
  
“Aren’t I enough for you, Xingxing?” Lu Han repeats softly with a hint of desperate urgency as he starts toward Yixing, forcing him down into his seat again.  
  
“‘Enough’? What are you talking about, Lu Han?” Yixing returns, a little distracted with the way Lu Han’s eyes seem to look sad.  
  
Lu Han takes another step forward until he’s seated on top of Yixing, straddling the editor as he leans forwards to place a kiss under the ear. “Kris. You keep looking for Kris even when I’m right here, in front of you. Aren’t I enough for you, Zhang Yixing?” he repeats, still tracing butterfly kisses down Yixing’s neck as his fingers work deftly at the button on his pants.  
  
Yixing wants to say yes, wants so much for Lu Han to be enough. But something is missing from the way Lu Han grabs him spontaneously and pushes him into the bedroom, and making the teenager in Yixing swoon when Lu Han whispers his name at night. It helps him momentarily forget the baffling yearning in his chest that he doesn’t quite understand, but all he can do now is hope that with Lu Han filling him up, the ache will go away on its own.  
  
Instead of trying to come up with a fitting lie, Yixing only returns the kisses Lu Han presses against his lips softly, the softest that Yixing has ever felt them.  
  
“Lu Han?” Yixing asks quietly when the latter pulls away and rests his forehead against Yixing’s. The way Lu Han’s eyes are squeezed tightly closed makes Yixing worry; why is Lu Han acting so strange today? Yixing reaches up and places his hand carefully against Lu Han’s jaw, thumb tracing careful circles on the older’s cheek, “You okay?”  
  
Lu Han doesn’t say anything and Yixing lets the silence hang; he can’t quite understand it, but Lu Han seems to need this.  
  
“Minseokie… he says I… that I have to learn to… to share…” Lu Han finally manages to get out in a murmur that Yixing barely catches as the former finally opens his eyes and pulls away from the latter, eyes staring straight into the younger’s as he backs to stand his own feet again.  
  
An emotion that Yixing doesn’t even know Lu Han is capable of clouds in the older’s eyes as he seems to struggle with an internal argument. Yixing furrows his brow and opens his mouth to ask something just as it erases itself from Lu Han’s expression, replaced with the same perfectly angelic smile as the designer straightens his shirt. “Well, come on then, Yixing, what are you waiting for? I’m starving!”  
  
Yixing swallows hesitantly as he fixes the opening of his pants, eyeing Lu Han warily, who continues to smile down at Yixing familiarly. Dismissing the worried feeling in his head, Yixing lets out a sigh and takes the hand that Lu Han offers, contemplating how alien it feels to have Lu Han intertwine their fingers together as they start towards the elevator. Yixing is so distracted by the feeling that he hardly notices that the elevator is going in the wrong direction until the doors open into Style’s lobby. “Did you forget something, Lu Han?” he asks as Lu Han guides them out of the metal box and into the chic office.  
  
Lu Han shakes his head lightly, “Nope! But you said you wanted to see where I work this morning, right? Well, this is where I work.”  
  
“But-” Yixing starts but stops himself when he spies Kris talking to someone at the other end of the hallway.  
  
“Come on, Xing. I’ll show you my office!” Lu Han continues, pulling Yixing for a couple meters before realising the magazine’s creative director is standing right in front of them.  
  
Yixing can feel Lu Han stiffen beside him and the way Lu Han’s fingers are starting to cut off the circulation to his own calms him; whatever happened downstairs in Yixing’s office was just an accident because Lu Han is back to himself again, shooting daggers at Kris with his eyes and pulling Yixing closer to his side as the two make their way to Lu Han’s office, making idle chitchat.  
  
A smile spreads across Yixing’s features without warning as the couple turn just feet from where Kris stands; it was good to see that face again even if he can no longer feel the fingers on one hand.  
  
…  
  
Yixing watches Kris’ smile at Lu Han as the two raise their champagne glasses in a toast. He hates how Kris looks so happy, but he hates himself more because he’s been harbouring unnecessary and unreasonable dislike for his assistant ever since he learned that Baekhyun gets to call Kris ‘boyfriend’.  
  
Yixing gets distracted from watching Kris mingle with his guests when Lu Han shows up beside him to steal his attention. “Enjoying yourself?”  
  
Yixing raises his glass with a grin, “Of course. Surrounded by all this awesome, how can anyone not enjoy themselves?” He’s glad when Lu Han smiles back at him because it means that the older hasn’t figured out that Yixing has spent the last hour staring after Kris.  
  
Lu Han’s phone rings and from the way his face lightens up, Yixing knows it can only be one person calling. Lu Han kisses Yixing quickly on the cheek before stepping aside as he answers his call eagerly. The fact that Lu Han talks daily with his boyfriend from Seoul has long stopped bothering Yixing and he stares into his champagne flute as he tries to figure out when exactly it was that he stopped caring, His thoughts are interrupted when he hears his name being called softly in Kris’ voice, and he smiles to himself, wondering if he’s finally reached the point where’s he begun to imagine things because the tall blond is really standing in front of him.  
  
“Oh. Hi, Kris,” he says, shifting on his feet as he tries to count in his head how many drinks he’s had. Finally recalling that alcohol isn’t a hallucinogen, he feels his entire body stiffen with anxiety.  
  
“Here with Lu Han, I’m guessing?” the taller asks, and Yixing rewards him with a shrug, “Why aren’t you with him right now?”  
  
Obviously because I’m here with you, Yixing thinks as he knocks back his drink, afraid that Lu Han might come back any second and get angry with Yixing again. “Oh, uhm, he’s on a call with someone back home in Seoul,” he explains, eyes flickering back to where Lu Han has his back turned towards Yixing, phone still glued to his ear.  
  
Yixing stifles a startled gasp when Kris turns to lean against the wall next to Yixing, who swallows against the burning sensation where Kris’s shoulder touches his own, reciting the recipe for red velvet cupcakes in his head as he tries to calm the beating in his chest. Kris says something that Yixing can’t catch because he’s too busy trying to remember how much sugar he’s supposed to add to the cream cheese icing, so he hums ambiguously into the awkward silence instead, hoping it’s enough for Kris not to notice his nervousness.  
  
“We need to stop… whatever this is between us. We can’t see each other outside work anymore.”  
  
Yixing swallows hard as he forces his attention back to Kris, “Oh. Uh. Of course,” he replies. Obviously that’s what Kris wants. Yixing is actually surprised that Kris hasn’t said anything sooner, especially given how he has been with Baekhyun for weeks now.  
  
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us, you know?”  
  
Yixing is glad that Kris isn’t standing in front of him where he’d be able to see Yixing’s eyes get red, though maybe the poor lighting would have concealed him anyway. He keeps his focus in front of him steadily, even though his head is racing with arguments for how Kris is wrong. But this is what Kris wants, so he agrees because maybe it’s time to just let go, let Kris and Baekhyun be happy because it isn’t as if Kris was ever his in the first place; Yixing would just be being selfish if he tried anything now. “Yeah, you’re right,” he says, but he feels himself wanting to take it back so he pushes himself to make it final, “I mean, I’ve got Lu Han and you’re with Baekhyun now, right?” he starts, though more to himself than anything, hoping that saying it out loud will make it easier for him handle, “I guess it’s best for both of us if we didn’t… you know… see each other… as more than… friends anymore.” The last words almost refuse to leave his throat, but he drives them out anyway, trying to keep his voice light and casual.  
  
“Your assistant and I aren’t together anymore.”  
  
It’s just so very you to just drop something important like that in the middle of a conversation with no warning, Yixing thinks, trying to control the swelling in his chest at the fact that Kris isn’t with Baekhyun anymore.  
  
“You might have been right about me trying to use him to get your attention because I was annoyed about you and Lu Han.”  
  
Yixing can’t breathe, can’t understand that Kris was using Baekhyun to get Yixing’s attention, making him choke at little in surprise, tongue starting to work with a mind of its own, “Worked, didn’t it?” he shoots out and wonders where he got the confidence.  
  
“You’re still with Lu Han, aren’t you?” Kris argues back and Yixing doesn’t know what to say to that, because he’s with Lu Han, but he isn’t with Lu Han. But how could he even start trying to explain his relation with Lu Han to Kris? He doesn’t even get the opportunity though because Kris is suddenly in front of him again and saying something he doesn’t quite catch. And then Kris is saying that he’s done feeling frustrated with Yixing all the time but that can’t really be right because that’s his line, too.  
  
By the time Kris is leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, Yixing doesn’t know what to think, but when he hears ‘Xingxing’ in Kris’ warm voice, he just wants to reach out and grab Kris, tell him not to leave. But an inexplicable fear holds him back.  
  
“Lu Han’s leaving in two weeks, Kris,” he mutters out loud, hoping it’s enough to convince Kris not to do this, not to just leave Yixing alone like this.  
  
When Kris stops walking in midstep, Yixing allows himself to smile just a little as he steps forward but he isn’t fast enough because Kris is moving away again with purpose and Yixing can’t keep up with the taller’s wide strides, losing him quickly in the crowd. Even Kris’ normally distinctive height is lost to him in this terrible lighting, amplified by the blurring of his vision as something wet starts down his face.  
  
…  
  
Yixing comes home on Wednesday night to the image of Lu Han on the couch with someone he doesn't recognize. "Who the hell are you?" he blurts out, hand suspended in the air in surprise, keys still dangling from his finger.  
  
His outburst earns him a glare from Lu Han, "This is Minseok, Yixing," he starts to explain, "He's staying for a week before I head back to Seoul."  
  
Yixing isn't quite sure how to respond to this, eyebrows furrowing together in contemplation as he closes the door behind him and starts to remove his jacket.  
  
"Ah, hello Yixing. Lu Han says I should thank you for looking after him these past couple of months?" Minseok says, though it comes out as a question. Yixing assumes that the way Minseok's eyes flicker is an indication that Lu Han's boyfriend from Seoul knows just how must Yixing has been looking after Lu Han. "Care to join us? We're just watching Mulan." Yixing arches an eyebrow at the choice of entertainment, and assumes that since Minseok is shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he gestures to the male sitting in his lap that this was Lu Han's choice.  
  
Lu Han looks at Yixing expectantly and since Yixing has nothing planned for the night anyway, he rounds to the fridge to grab a beer before taking a seat in the opposite end of the couch, only to have Lu Han slide off of Minseok to sidle up closer to Yixing, "Why are you sitting so far away?" he whines, leaning in to kiss Yixing lightly on the cheek. Pulling away, the youngest of the trio flushes a hundred shades of red as he wonders what Minseok must be thinking. He chances a look in his direction and finds the oldest with a disinterested look on his face as he holds Lu Han's hand loosely and continues to stare at the television.  
  
Lu Han notices the way Yixing shifts uncomfortably as he tries to focus his attention on the screen in front of him. This only makes Lu Han laugh before he draws Yixing in to lock their lips together before the latter pulls away and looks around him at Minseok frantically.  
  
"Kiss him," Lu Han grins, head gesturing to Minseok as Yixing's eyebrows fly into his forehead.  
  
Yixing’s mouth opens and closes like he’s a fish out of water as his mind begins to register the words, eyes staring blankly at the couple in front of him; Minseok has clearly been listening, despite his apparent focus on the TV because he turns around to listen in on the conversation.  
  
"He's good, trust me," Lu Han continues with a playful smile, which makes Yixing draw away into the furthest corner of the couch.  
  
"Stop scaring him, Lu Han," Minseok finally speaks up, voice calm as he gives Yixing an apologetic smile.  
  
“You’re the one who said I should learn to share,” Lu Han whines, only to receive another warning look from Minseok. "Fine," Lu Han pouts at both of the boys on the couch on either side of him before breaking into a smile again, "That just means more for me then," he says childishly before he draws Yixing in for hungry kiss, free hand wandering up Yixing's chest under his shirt. When Lu Han finally pulls away, Yixing hears himself whine reflexively in protest but before he can open his eyes, lips are upon his own again.  
  
Lu Han is aggressive and dominating, but Minseok, Yixing learns, is soft and coaxes Yixing gently to take control, to set the pace, warm tongue flicking out to trace Yixing’s lips before retracting again, drawing another soft protest of desire from Yixing.  
  
And suddenly, Yixing is thinking about Kris again, about the conversation from a few days ago at Lu Han's party and how Kris actually just cut contact from Yixing completely.  
  
Yixing squeezes his eyes closed and deepens the kiss with Minseok in an effort to forget, moaning softly when Minseok finally pushes back. A sharp gasp escapes from Yixing when he feels Lu Han sucking at his shoulder and Yixing can't think straight anymore, with two pairs of hands on him and general Shang singing ‘I’ll make a man out of you’ in the background.  
  
Yixing hates how he wants this too much, for Lu Han and Minseok to take him, take him and make him forget about how Kris can be so heartless, just cutting him out of this life.  
  
*  
  
When Yixing wakes up the next morning, he’s in his own bed. Soft breathing beside him makes him turn to find Lu Han curled up into Minseok with his back towards a jealous Yixing.  
  
Jealous.  
  
Yes, Yixing is jealous, but he realises that it’s not because Lu Han seems to fit perfectly against Minseok or that Lu Han has never done this with Yixing; he’s jealous because he wants to have with Kris whatever it is that Lu Han has with Minseok. He wants to understand how Lu Han can keep his heart only for Minseok even when he’s been letting Yixing touch him nearly every night for the last couple of months. He wants to understand how Lu Han can flirt so easily with Yixing, wrapping him around his elegant finger and Minseok will still hold him like this, like Lu Han is the most precious thing to him. He wants to know what he can do to have Kris hold him like that.  
  
Yixing realises with a nervous swallow that he needs to stop this. This isn’t healthy, and he can’t keep using Lu Han to make his troubling thoughts about Kris go away, especially since Lu Han is leaving in just under a week; he’s going to have to see Kris eventually. Yixing rolls off the bed as quietly as possible, grabbing clothes before he slips into the shower, contemplating the entire time whether to call Kris up and ask him to lunch. By the time he’s stepping into his living room and towel drying his hair, he’s decided that he’d much rather ask Kris in person.  
  
He turns on the stove and sets a pan to heat as he removes ingredients from his fridge, but by the time he slides the omelette onto a plate, Yixing doesn’t feel like eating it. His stomach feels like it’s playing host to a million butterflies and his tongue feels like the outside of an unpeeled fuzzy peach. Still, Yixing can’t help but smile because he’s going to go up to the 27th floor at EXO Publications and he’s going to see Kris.  
  
Yixing sighs as he drops the fork and knife in his hands onto the kitchen table with barely concealed excitement, getting up to rip a page from the memo pad next to his phone and scribbling a note for Lu Han to enjoy Yixing’s breakfast for him.  
  
…  
  
Kris isn’t at Style when Yixing gets to work too early, and he’s not there at lunch either. When he asks Kyungsoo where the assistant’s boss is, he gets a rude retort, “Well, I would like to know too, Mr. Zhang. Son of bitch didn’t even bother calling in sick this morning, and for God knows why, he doesn’t seem to have his phone with him – I swear when I find him, I’m going to glue it to him. Doesn’t he realise how busy it is here? The models for…” Yixing stops paying attention as the visibly stressed assistant starts on a tirade of all the problems he’s encountered in the last twenty-four hours, forgetting that Yixing only asked him a simple question, not for his life story.  
  
Even after Kyungsoo has informed him that Kris isn’t answering his mobile number, Yixing still tries, dialling the number again and again as he paces his office, foregoing all pretense of productivity. “Dammit Kris. Pick up.” By the end of the day, Yixing is pretty sure that the area behind his desk is at least an inch lower than anywhere else with all the wear. He dismisses Baekhyun for the evening with a grunt and gets rewarded by the arrival of a familiar face, someone he’d seen working with Kris upstairs. Suppressing the urge to throw up in my garbage bin at the thought that he is one of Kris’ intimate friends, Yixing interrupts a conversation between the tall smiling model and Baekhyun. “Uhm, you work with Kris right?” he asks quietly.  
  
“Uhm, yeah, I guess you could say that, why?” the model asks, cocking an interested eyebrow at Yixing.  
  
“Do you… know where he is today?” Yixing ignores the way Baekhyun politely excuses himself to make photocopies with empty arms.  
  
The tall male looks up at the ceiling as he crosses his arms in contemplation. “Well, I actually haven’t seen him in a while, but I’ve heard from people upstairs that he stormed out without explaining himself yesterday. If he hasn’t returned today, then, if I know him and I think I do, Kris is most likely moping around at home for whatever reason dragged him from the office in the first place.”  
  
“Oh, thanks, uhm…?”  
  
“Chanyeol,” the model offers, leaning into the side of Baekhyun’s table and observing Yixing with scrutinizing eyes. “So. You’re Yixing, huh?” he continues as Yixing starts towards his office again.  
  
“Excuse me?” Yixing asks, turning around and cocking his head to the side in confusion.  
  
“Baek’s told me about you.” Chanyeol only grins widely when Yixing looks even more confused. “You’ll be good for him,” he says vaguely, getting up to meet Baekhyun who’s returned from the photocopying room with nothing. “It was nice meeting you!” Chanyeol yells behind him before he slings his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders as they wait for the elevator.  
  
Yixing stares after Chanyeol and wonders if starvation has gotten to the model’s head because nothing he said seems to make sense at all.  
  
*  
  
When Yixing gets home that night, he finds Lu Han in the exact same position that prompted Minseok’s introduction and when both he and his boyfriend look up at Yixing, the latter can feel his cheeks burn at the memory of last night. Chin dropping into his chest, he makes a dash to his bedroom, hoping that Lu Han’s mischievous laugh is just something he’s imagined. Taking deep breaths until he can feel the temperature in his cheeks drop to something more human, Yixing takes a seat on his bed, staring blindly at his bookshelf as Kris’ voice filters its way into his head.  
  
I guess it’s best for both of us if we didn’t see each other as more than friends anymore.  
  
Friends. The word is unnaturally ugly in his head and it brings up a bitter taste to the back of his mouth.  
  
Friends? The word is laughable. How on earth can Kris expect them to be friends?  
  
Yixing groans and pulls up his legs, chin resting on his knees as he stares at the bookshelf  
  
His eyes scan absently over the bookshelf opposite the bed, landing on the highest shelf that a pile of board games call home.  
  
Friends play board games, right?  
  
Yixing jumps to his feet and heads to his closet to grab a duffel bag before standing on his tiptoes to reach the boxes before shoving them recklessly into the bag. When it isn’t big enough to hold all the options, Yixing grabs his backpack as well. Shouldering both, Yixing leaves to the living room, dropping his bags on the ground beside him as he shoves his feet into his shoes. “Hey, I’m going to Kris’,” he announces as he turns around to face his roommate, narrowing his eyes when he recognizes the box of ice cream in Lu Han’s lap. “Hey!” he yells as he gets to his feet and starts towards the couch, “That’s mine, Lu Han! I bought that yesterday!”  
  
Lu Han raises an eyebrow, spoon still in his mouth as Yixing grabs the tub, searching for the lid around him. “It’s nice to share, Yixing,” Lu Han pouts in his typical way, “And you didn’t mind it so much that last time I ate your ice cream.” Yixing glares at Lu Han as he slaps the lid on the container, while Lu Han licks his spoon clean and then gives it to Minseok who rolls his eyes before taking it and putting it down on the coffee table for his boyfriend.  
  
Yixing turns and scowls at Minseok, “You need to stop spoiling him so much.”  
  
Minseok only shrugs with a grin, running his fingers once through Lu Han’s hair. “Can’t,” is all he says before kissing the top of the designer’s head, eliciting a giggle from Lu Han. Yixing hardly bothers to mask the look of disgust on his face, trying not to throw up at the sight of Lu Han acting cute; Lu Han never acts cute.  
  
Hiding his disgust, Yixing turns away, eyes falling on his stack of video games under the television. Piling them into a somewhat organized stack topped with the tub of ice cream, he avoids another glance at the two lovers on the couch as he balances the pile with one arm, shouldering the bags with the other and slams the door shut behind him.  
  
*  
  
Kris looks like a disaster when he finally opens the door for Yixing, hair unstyled and sticking out at odd places, bottle of whiskey in one hand, but it’s still enough to get Yixing’s pulse racing. He eyes the liquor swirling in the bottle and decides that this might be easier with a bit of alcohol in his system, so he shoves the cases into Kris’ unsteady arms before stealing the bottle, taking quick steps inside so he doesn’t have to meet Kris’ eyes as he tries to steady his nerves.  
  
“What are you doing here, Yixing?” Kris asks as he tries to balance Yixing’s unceremonious gift.  
  
Be honest, he thinks to himself as he turns to kick his shoes off and close the front door. Eyeing the precariously balanced pile of games, Yixing grabs the tub of ice cream to himself again, just in time for the plastic cases to litter the hardwood floor in disarray. Just be honest, Yixing thinks to himself again before he opens his mouth to speak, “What, just because we’re not having sex anymore, we can’t be friends?” Yixing is glad that his back is to Kris again, hiding the grimace on his face as he berates himself. Okay, not entirely honest, but whatever. Try harder, Yixing. He slouches onto the couch and relieves himself of the bags on his shoulders.  
  
“I thought we agreed that we shouldn’t see each other outside of work anymore.”  
  
The exasperated tone in Kris’ voice stings and Yixing has to swallow the lump in his throat before plastering a smile and grabbing one of the remotes sitting on Kris’ coffee table. “What d’ya wanna play, Kris?”  
  
Yixing watches Kris get to his feet with some difficulty before walking towards Yixing. He expects Kris to hand him whatever game it is that he has chosen but gets a lapful of plastic cases instead, followed by a dismissive tone, “I’m not really in the mood to play video games, Yixing.”  
  
Horrified at the thought that Kris might force him to leave, Yixing jumps to his feet, ignoring the clattering of cases falling to his feet as he reaches for the bag of board games, pulling them out one by one enthusiastically until Kris grabs him arm, forcing him to stop. “What are you doing, Yixing?”  
  
Yixing doesn’t like the way his arm seems to burn where Kris has his hand and he jerks away, hoping that it helps.  
  
It doesn’t.  
  
“We’re playing games! Friends play games, right?” Okay, that was completely true, but just not at all relevant. Yixing also doesn’t like how high his voice is so he takes the game he’s got in his hand and sits down with it. Scrabble? Yixing sucks at Scrabble, but the alternative is to get to his feet and face Kris again, so he opens the box and starts to set up, concentrating on perfectly aligning the edges of the board to the edges of the table in an effort to ignore the daggers that Kris is staring into his back. “Well? Aren’t you going to sit down?” he asks, voice still too squeaky for his liking as he gestures across the table from himself.  
  
“You need to leave, Xing,” Kris starts and Yixing likes how his nickname sounds in his voice; has it always sounded so nice? “I’ve gotta get back to… well it doesn’t matter. You just have to go, okay?”  
  
Yixing feels Kris long fingers wrap around his arm and he pulls away in surprise at the tingling sensation again. “No,” he shoots back because Yixing isn’t leaving. He’s not leaving until he’s told Kris how he feels. He just needs more time. “I’m not leaving okay? Where would I go?”  
  
“I dunno, home, maybe?” Kris tone is sarcastic and Yixing wants to hit him for it. Yixing can’t go home, home is where Lu Han and Minseok are snuggling on a couch making disgusting faces at each other. “No, I can’t go home,” Yixing starts to explain, playing nervously with the bottom of his shirt; if Yixing goes home now because Kris is rejecting him again, what happened last night is only going to happen all over again and he’s not sure he can handle it a second time. “Lu Han’s been staying with me since he arrived a couple months ago. And he’s there now with Minseok, and I just can’t, okay, Kris? I can’t go home and face… them… together like that.”  
  
When Kris’ eyes suddenly soften, Yixing realises that this isn’t how he should have worded it. He doesn’t correct himself though, because Kris finally sits down across from Yixing and agrees to Checkers. It takes seven games for Yixing to finally calm down enough to notice that Kris is losing on purpose so he suggests another game. Hardly bothered and determined to clear the air, Yixing gets up and starts toward the liquor cabinet in search of liquid courage.  
  
“No more games.”  
  
Yixing stops in his tracks toward the liquor cabinet and turns to look back at Kris who is still sitting on his living room floor, leaned over to pick up a stray Scrabble tile. Yixing’s fingers ball into fists and he realises that Kris is right, he needs to stop running away.  
  
“Fine, no more games,” he agrees, kneeling behind Kris so he can slip a hand into the latter’ shirt. He’s missed this, misses the warmth of Kris’ body against his own and misses the smell of the older’s aftershave even though tonight, they make his stomach do nervous backflips. When Kris lets out a moan, Yixing wants more, breath already feeling hot as it rebounds off of Kris’ cool skin.  
  
But then Kris is suddenly on his feet, pushing Yixing away, telling him to stop.  
  
I can’t, Kris. Don’t you get it? I need you. Yixing follows Kris to his feet and starts reaching for the bottom of Kris’ t-shirt, trying to pull it over the wearer’s head.  
  
“Stop using me whenever you’re upset about Lu Han and his boyfriend from back home in Seoul.”  
  
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Yixing’s fingers freeze as his brain registers what Kris is trying to say. How can he say that? “That’s not true,” he starts to explain, but Kris isn’t even listening, accusing him of things that aren’t true, and the sharp words hurt too much and Yixing wants to run away again, so he does, because Kris is just being so mean. Yixing doesn’t bother putting on his shoes, only grabbing them on his way out because he can feel stinging tears threatening to fall and he refuses to let Kris see them.  
  
It’s a whole second after the door has slammed that his legs give out and the editor falls to his knees, not caring that one of Kris’ neighbours is giving him a concerned look.  
  
…  
  
Yixing doesn’t go into work the next day and chooses instead to stay in the hotel room he’s rented to keep from going home (even though he spends a significant part of the night wondering if he should just go home and seek comfort in Lu Han). NaturEats is at the beginning of a new cycle anyway and the magazine can handle his temporary absence. Besides, going in to work will mean seeing Baekhyun, and even if his assistant is no longer in a relationship with Kris, the reminder is still too hard to swallow.  
  
He spends the majority of the day tossing and turning in his sheets, burying his head under his pillows as he tries to force himself to stop thinking about the cruelty of the previous night. He spends half of the time swearing at his phone because Kris has taken to ignoring his efforts, and the other half of the time swearing at himself because he can’t gather the courage to head to EXO Publications and simply drop by Kris’ office in person to explain himself; what would he say anyway?  
  
…  
  
It’s already Wednesday morning by the time Yixing decides he has to leave this hotel room. He has to do something about Kris. Deciding that at five-thirty in the morning, Kris will more likely be at his loft than at work, Yixing jumps into the first cab that pulls up to the curb, wringing his hands the entire ride to the other side of the city. “Can’t you go any faster?” Yixing asks on more than one occasion, only to have his driver grunt at him derisively.  
  
When Yixing finally arrives in front of Kris’ door, he’s out of breath from having climbed the stairs instead of waiting for the slow elevator. He spends a good minute pacing the length in front of the door, trying to even his breathing, all the while running through possible introductions when Kris opens the door until he realises that the only time he’s going to know what to say is when Kris is actually standing in front of him.  
  
So he knocks.  
  
And then knocks again.  
  
And then once more with more urgency as bile starts to seep into the back of his throat, filling his mouth with bitterness. Kris can’t possibly be at the office already, which means there’s only one other reason why the tall blond isn’t answering his door: he was over at someone else’ place last night. Yixing raises his hand once more to knock, hoping that he’s wrong, that Kris is just slow to wake up but five minutes later when Yixing’s knuckles have gone raw red, he slumps to the floor in defeat. He pulls out his phone, wondering if it’s even worth the effort to call Kris. His finger hovers over the unlock button for a second before he actually presses down half-heartedly.  
  
One new message.  
  
Probably Lu Han, Yixing thinks to himself idly before opening the thread.  
  
Yixing, I’m going to France. You can pick up your stuff whenever. I left the key on the ledge above my door.  
  
What the hell is Lu Han talking about? It’s not until he finally looks at the name of the sender that Yixing jumps to feet, blood rushing to his head as he tries to steady himself.  
  
France? What the hell is Kris going to France for?!  
  
The phone slips from Yixing’s hand, forgotten, as its owner immediately stands on his tiptoes and feels around the top of the door frame until something small hits him on the head before settling on the hallway floor with a clatter. He fumbles with the lock, dropping the key twice more before he turns the handle and pushes the door open.  
  
“Kris?” Yixing calls into the deadened loft, not actually expecting a reply. His instinct brings him to Kris’ bedroom where he heads straight for the closet. France? That’s absurd. It must be a typo, he argues in his head, but when the doors swing open to reveal empty hangars, he can’t pretend any more.  
  
Panic starts to rise in Yixing’s chest as he runs back to the front door where he’d dropped his phone, picking it up and dialling Kris’ number, only to be immediately redirected to Kris’ voicemail. Fuck, Kris. You can’t be gone already! This text is only half an hour old!  
  
He almost screams when a second dial yields the same results.  
  
No, no, no. You can’t be gone, you just can’t.  
  
He stares at the loft before him and the panic only grows as he walks into the lonely loft, arm kicking out to steady himself on the nearest piece of furniture as his knees give in under him. The desk’s rounded corner digging dully into his side is enough to draw a soft whimper from his lips that grows into a hysterical scream as he gasps for oxygen in the suffocating air, lowering into a crouch with one hand grabbing at his chest and the other gripping onto the edge of the desk like a lifeline.  
  
How can you just leave without a warning?  
  
His head drops between his knees, hands coming to his head and clawing at his hair in frustration and wiping desperately at his wet face.  
  
How can you just leave me behind like this?  
  
He doesn’t notice the piece of paper that floats down from the desk when his hand slips on the way down to his side until a pen hits him in the head. He almost throws the pen across the room in anger when he looks down at the page lying crooked on the floor in front of him, inked scribbles in Kris’ messy handwriting and a single circle around one of the entries:  
  
One-way to Paris, nonstop, departs 8:30am, Wednesday.  
  
8:30am.  
  
8:30am? Yixing pulls his phone out and nearly chokes over his own tongue when he realises he still has a couple hours before he loses his last opportunity to come clean with Kris, whatever the consequence. He just needs Kris to know how he feels because keeping it to himself any longer is too painful to even fathom. He grabs the key that’s still hanging in the front door lock and the page with the stupid writing that Yixing can’t help but smile at as he runs down the stairs.  
  
Wait for me, Kris.  
  
…  
  
“Hi, I need to get to this flight here,” Yixing sputters, words barely thread together into a coherent sentence as he points at the circled portion on the wrinkled page, worn from Yixing’s nerves on the ride to the airport. He ignores the cautious look the clerk behind the information counter gives him; he knows he looks like a disaster, but he can’t care less, he just needs to find Kris, his Kris.  
  
“Uh, the airline you’re looking for is just down there, they’ll be able to help you out,” the clerk replies to deaf ears; Yixing can see him, lifting his bags to have them tagged by the lady behind the counter. A long sigh flows from him as a weight lifts from his shoulders.  
  
Found you.  
  
Kris looks startled when he turns to find Yixing staring at him and the younger one can’t help but notice how good the other looks, not a single hair out of place, unlike his own at the moment. “What the hell is this?” he shoots out when he remembers that he is here not to simply gawk at Kris’ perfection, holding up his phone with Kris’ message.  
  
Yixing watches quietly as Kris looks from the phone and then back at Yixing, before deliberately shouldering past the redhead towards the security check in.  
  
“Kris!” Yixing’s hand moves quickly to grab the older around the wrist, determination coursing through his veins.  
  
“It’s exactly what it says, Yixing,” Kris answers calmly with a sigh, “I’m going to Paris to run Style France. If you want your games back, I’ve left my key above the door.”  
  
Yixing searches Kris’ eyes for anything that might mean his crazed frenzy this morning wasn’t for nothing, but they’re just as calm as the voice. Yixing swallows the nauseau that’s formed in his throat, “So… you’re just going to… leave me behind?” he asks in a tiny voice, all the confusing comments Kris made the last time they were alone flooding back to him. “How long will you be gone for?”  
  
“It’s a two year contract,” Kris answers flatly, avoiding eye contact.  
  
The last time we were together, the first time that it… meant something more than just good sex for me…  
  
“Kris…” Yixing starts, hand reaching up to Kris’ jacket as he starts to make sense of that confusing line.  
  
“I’m going to be late for my flight.”  
  
Yixing stares blankly at the hand that pushed Yixing’s from Kris’ chest, a warmth swelling inside him at the momentary contact.  
  
“I… I’ll wait for you to come back, Kris,” Yixing calls out, each syllable growing stronger as he finally makes the decision, “Two years, three years, or five. I’ll be here. Waiting.”  
  
A smile pulls at the corners of his lips as he stares at the back of Kris’ frozen figure and breathes in deeply, “I think I’m falling in love with you, Kris.”  
  
Yixing can’t say for sure if that’s true, but the words feel right. It feels right to finally say it out loud, to give a name for the longing he’s been feeling these last few weeks. And it feels perfect when Kris turns around and cups his hand at the base of his neck, bending down to plant his lips on Yixing’s, a soft need that mirrors Yixing’s for closeness. Yixing pulls on Kris’ jacket, bringing their bodies closer as the kiss deepens, filling that void in his chest that he finally understands.  
  
Yixing almost whines when Kris pulls away, resting his forehead on Yixing’s, a content smile playing at his lips.  
  
“Stay, Kris,” Yixing whispers, wrapping his arms around Kris’ waist and pulling him even closer, “Don’t go to France.”  
  
Kris sighs and closes his eyes, “I can’t, Yixing. I promised to go already.”  
  
A frown forms on Yixing’s expression, “Then quit,” he counters with a pout.  
  
“I’m not quitting, Yixing,” Kris laughs, “I love my job.”  
  
Yixing has to resist the whining urge to ask if Kris loves his job more than Yixing because it’s not the right time for that. Not yet. He scowls when Kris starts to remove Yixing’s arm from around his waist but he reminds himself not to be greedy; the fact that Kris isn’t outright saying no to Yixing is enough. For now.  
  
“And we need this, Yixing.”  
  
Yixing’s eyebrows stitch together in confusion, “What?”  
  
“Everything we’ve been through. Maybe this time away from each other will be good for us.”  
  
“What?” Yixing repeats, not sure if he’s hearing things right.  
  
“I don’t want to be a rebound for Lu Han,” Kris continues.  
  
Yixing feels like strength in his fingers slip as he recalls through gritted teeth the way Kris had falsely accused Yixing of using Kris as a distraction from Lu Han. “You’re not,” Yixing starts, eyes glued to his toes as he tries to come up with a decent explanation of the past month. How is he supposed to describe all the things that were running in his head the entire time?  
  
Before Yixing can open his mouth again, he feels a finger at his chin and then lips at his forehead. “I have a plane to catch,” Kris whispers, before pulling away and turning to grab his carry-on before heading through security.  
  
Yixing stares after the tall figure walking away, fingers jammed into his pockets as he tries to save himself the embarrassment of running after Kris even after such finality from the older. Teething grinding together until his jaw begins to hurt, Yixing forces himself to turn around, to move.  
  
“What are you doing here, Yixing?” Yixing looks up to find Lu Han holding his passport and flight ticket, looking at the younger with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Yixing lets out an exasperated sigh, “Not now, Lu Han,” he says curtly before finally getting his feet to move past Lu Han.  
  
“Hey, wait, Xingie!”  
  
“No, Lu Han. I’m too tired today, okay? I just want to go home,” he answers in an exasperated tone, “You have a safe flight, ‘kay?” he adds as an afterthought before continuing his way to the sliding exit doors.  
  
“Just give me five minutes, will you, Zhang Yixing?”  
  
Yixing groans even though he stops walking long enough for Lu Han to catch up, “What do you want, Lu Han?”  
  
The designer gives Yixing a momentary glare before rolling his eyes, “Here,” he says, before grabbing Yixing’s wrist, pulling it from his pocket and returning the black band to the rest of its family. “Thought I should return it before I left.”  
  
The eyebrows on Yixing’s face shoot into his forehead in surprise, “Oh. Uhm, thanks?” he answers awkwardly, feeling guilty to his mom for having forgotten about the stolen bracelet. “Er, where’s Minseok?” he asks after clearing his throat, trying to fill the silence even though he said he doesn’t have time for Lu Han.  
  
“Uhm, he’s getting our bags checked.”  
  
Yixing hums in acknowledgement, trying to figure out the strange look on Lu Han’s face and deciding that it isn’t worth the effort any more.  
  
“Look, uhm,” Lu Han starts and Yixing has to narrow his eyes to focus his hearing; is Lu Han nervous? “Minseok’s right, as usual,” Lu Han mutters with a crooked smile, “I don’t know how to share. I thought that I could try it with you, you know with you being all cute and nervous ever since you came to pick me up at the airport, but I- Seeing you with Kris, it’s too much. And I’ll be honest. I was a little jealous.”  
  
A little jealous? Yixing wants to retort sarcastically but he stills his tongue and waits for Lu Han to finish.  
  
“I guess what I’m trying to say is uhm, well, I didn’t mean to uhm, uh...”  
  
An unwitting smile pulls at Yixing’s lips before he leans close to touch his lips briefly to Lu Han’s, “Yeah, I get it.” Yixing finds it surprisingly easy to act natural with Lu Han like this and wonders if he’s simply too emotionally exhausted with Kris to take it hard with Lu Han or if he’s just grown out of it altogether. Either way, it feels a weight lifted from his shoulders and he manages to widen the smile. “Thanks, Lu Han,” he replies, not sure the other is aware of just how much Yixing is thankful to him; in a weird way, it was Lu Han’s selfishness that finally gave Yixing the push he needed to confront his own feelings.  
  
“I, uhm, I hope you and Kris work it out?” Lu Han offers with an almost encouraging tone. Yixing controls the derisive snort that threatens to expose itself, thankful for Minseok who has finally shown up next to Lu Han. “Well, I guess we should get going then. I’ll see you ‘round, Yixing.” Lu Han shifts awkwardly on his feet as if in debate with himself whether to advance towards Yixing for a hug, opting finally to simply grab Minseok around the elbow and steer them in the opposite direction.  
  
“Hey, wait,” Minseok speaks up, the first time since his arrival, stopping Lu Han just as he starts to pull Minseok towards security check, “I think I left something at the counter. You go ahead, Lu Han, I’ll catch with you, okay?”  
  
Lu Han lets out a small pout that makes Yixing feel relief flood through his chest; the designer is back to being his normal self. “Hurry, okay?”  
  
Minseok waits until Lu Han is out of earshot before turning to Yixing with apology written into his features, “Look, I just really want to thank you for looking after Lu Han when he was here. It was really good of you to put up with his, uhm… well his Lu Han-ness. And about the other night…” he trails quietly.  
  
Yixing shakes his head and waves his hand light-heartedly, “Don’t worry about it, okay? I was there. I didn’t say no, did I? Now just go after Lu Han before he gets lost looking for his gate.” Yixing looks past Minseok and finds Lu Han leaned over to pick up his phone, apologizing to a couple that he nearly runs into. “Just make sure to take care of him, okay? He seems to need you.”  
  
Minseok laughs with an amused shrug, “Lu Han’s just a kid stuck in an adult’s body. Don’t worry, I’ll look out for him.” He glances down at his watch momentarily before speaking again, “Alright, well good luck with Kris then, Yixing,” Minseok smiles sincerely as he starts to back up, “And you dropped something.” He points towards Yixing’s feet before turning around with a wave and hurrying towards the doors, arm wrapping protectively around Lu Han’s waist when he finally catches up.  
  
Yixing bends over to pick up the key that must have fallen from his jeans when Lu Han pulled his wrist from his pocket. As he waits for traffic to let up long enough to cross the street to where his car is parked, Yixing stares at Kris’ key, wondering when he will next see its owner.  
  
As realisation hits him, a smile spreads widely across Yixing’s face and he pulls out his phone to type out a message to Kris.  
  
Have a safe trip, Kris.  
By the way, I’m keeping the key to your loft. I know it’s the only key you have because you told me you lost your spare two months ago. This way, when you finally come home, you’ll HAVE to come see me to get it back.  
  
P.S. Don’t you dare give away your heart to some smooth talking French guy while you’re over there; it belongs to me.


End file.
